Shadow Games
by Fiona Fargazer
Summary: (Part 3 of TR story) Set after More Than a Good Feeling. While trying to live at least semi-normal lives, Musashi, Kojiro, and Nyaasu are dragged into Team Rocket's latest scheme, a version of the Shadow Project of Cipher, when Kosaburo and Yamato steal most of their pokémon. Something darker is underlying this project, however, that not even Kosaburo and Yamato are aware of.
1. Prologue

JMJ

Shadow Games

_NOTE: The third of four stories I want to make about Team Rocket. This story is set after the events of _More Than a Good Feeling_. Musashi and Kojiro are married and reformed is mainly what carries on from the first two stories, for the story focuses on the rest of Team Rocket too, especially Kosaburo (Butch) and Yamato (Cassidy) as the story goes along. Haruka (May) and Masato (Max) also make an appearance. As with the other two stories this is a bit of an AU. Musashi and Kojiro have their older pokémon because I said so, though there are references to them having Wabafet, Chimecho. Also I keep most of their Japanese names except" Giovanni" and many of the people from Orre. I also have all pokémon names in English, because although I like the Japanese version of this show way better, I don't want to have to relearn all the pokémon names (except Nyaasu). Lastly this story is the most AU-ish because, although there are some vague mentions of Team Rocket sneaking around Unova, the Unova plots from the _BW_ series of _Pokémon_ are pretty much completely disregarded; in its place is Team Rocket's activity in a region that I made up with my brother, a little like a smaller version of Canada and is simply called the Northern Region. Its team, Team Polsar is named with the combined words "Polaris" and "pulsar". The pokémon of this region are mostly made up by my brother and are used with his permission. Again, most Japanese phrases are courtesy of my sister (though I am starting to memorize a lot of the ones used more frequently in these stories), and also the entire plot was originally co-created with my sister. She especially should be credited with the part of the plot pertaining to Kosaburo later in the story. Lastly, of course, there are some of the game stories mixed into the plot a bit in my own way, mostly having to do with the Orre Region, but I also have the characters Athena, Apollo, Lambda, and Lance (from the games), whom I have adapted into the story the way I wanted to._

PROLOGUE:

Quickly, the girl ducked into the shadows. She watched with eyes piercing as the pair of oblivious grunts walked her by. Clothed in black from head to toe, even their eyes shielded in black by the way their caps were designed to arch over the brow, they looked decently menacing when one was forced to confront an army of these people, but the girl knew better. She did not want to be seen by them, but she was not threatened by them. If they were any decent or had any skill they would have been field agents.

The girl grinned, and once the unmindful passed, discussing lunch like a serious computer malfunction in hushed whispers, she crept out of the shadows and stole across the corridor in the opposite direction. She paused then, listening to what she thought to be someone else coming, but when no one appeared from either direction, she then pressed her ear to the door and listened. She did not think anyone was inside. Even still she would have to keep her wits about her.

Opening the door very carefully, she slipped inside, and yes, she did hear someone scuffling around in here behind one of the many rows of lockers. The girl walked naturally right past another girl with her back to her who was just pulling up a Rocket boot over a foot. The girl then slipped into an empty row, and reaching into her own boot, she pulled out a pick, for she found just the sort of lock she wanted, not a number lock, but a key lock, and she stole into it pretty handily with her pick.

She pulled out the black uniform and was surprised and delighted to see that it in fact to be a real agent uniform! It should not have surprised her, though; for though the male population in Team Rocket outnumbered the women from nearly four to one, almost all female members were field agents or working toward that goal (and secretarial positions did not count).

How wonderful anyway! She would have been happy for a mere grunt getup, but this just made her day. How easily she would get upstairs now! The field agent uniform even had a card!

Katana Eto.

_Well, I guess Katana's not so sharp, after all_, thought the girl giddily, and she nearly let out a snicker as she found a spot to change into the uniform. It proved a little too long for her and bunched up in a few places, but in the darkened halls of the base outside the locker room no one would notice. Now she did not have to be as careful as she strutted out of the locker room, card neatly tucked away.

The girl reached the elevator, and in order to go up she needed a flash of a card, so swiping it through the proper slot, she pressed the upward button to the top floor. Up, up, up, she rose to the very tippy top of the base, and here she exited out into a clean white hall very different from the dark ant tunnels below. Everything felt spacious, and the bright light of day glowed warmly though the skylights. For a moment she felt a little like a cockroach having just crawled out of some dark, cold hole.

Once her eyes adjusted, she strode straight forward toward the normal looking office door at the end of the hall. It was here that she stopped and here that she opened the door.

A tall woman stood up behind her desk. She seemed to take in the misshapen look of the girl's attire, for her eyes arched with disapproval of some kind.

Calmly, confidently, and nonchalantly, the girl flashed her card, the woman obviously not looking deeply at the card as the thin, dark-haired woman on the card looked nothing like the girl. The girl looked the complete opposite, petite, baby-blue hair bobbed twenties' styled graced curled around her near plump, pink cheeks. She looked a rather innocent cherub for a field agent, but looks could be deceiving, deceiving looks would be of excellent value, and the girl smiled with full innocence now at the woman.

"Aren't you a little young to be a field agent?" demanded the woman; her voice sounded gruff, almost masculine in a way.

"I'm in training," said the girl with a disdainful huff. "I work as go between. My superiors sent me with an urgent message for the Boss."

"And who might they be?" the woman wanted to know.

"Katana and her partner," said the girl.

"The Boss won't be happy if it's another failure," said the woman lightly.

"Oh, I suppose not, but that's why they sent _me_," said the girl, quickly playing along. "It's very urgent, the whole thing is a bust, and we'll need cover-ups and—"

"Oh, just shut up and go in," grumbled the woman, and pressing the button, she announced to the Boss himself that Katana had a message for him.

"Send her in," a dark voice replied.

"It's a go-between," the woman warned, eyeing the girl with a knowing sneer that made the girl more annoyed than afraid.

"Very well," said the voice without hesitation.

Then with a pompous flaunt, the girl made for the second pair of doors. She took hold of the knob and dared to go inside, and there she saw him. The Boss himself. Mitori, his personal secretary stood near at hand just writing something down a clipboard, and the persian looked up lazily from the floor but with a warning in his eyes that told the girl that if he saw any suspicious movements he would not hesitate to stop her himself. Those big claws and sharp teeth were more than just for looks. And the Boss, well-suited and ringed fingers folded together over his desk, sat in such a way that his face lay in shadow with his back to the sunlit window behind him. He was directed towards the girl. That much she could tell.

Only now did she tremble, but only a little.

"Naomi. What was your time?" asked the Boss, his voice emotionless as his body was motionless.

The girl checked her watched. "Twenty-two minutes exactly."

"The fastest time we've had in a while and security has been updated not long ago," said the Boss.

The girl, Naomi, glanced briefly to the secretary. She seemed more like a statue than a person as she stood in silence with eyes glaring through her glasses very much like the eyes of the Persian. Although both dangerous in their own way, they were both held back by the hand of their master as accessories to his magnificence.

The girl returned to the Boss.

"Are … you impressed, Boss?" asked the girl a little more timidly than she would have liked.

"You have my approval for your own sake," said the Boss. "Don't lose it. Potential does not equal the skill needed for the field, and I want only the best."

"_Hai_!" exclaimed the girl, and with that, she made to leave the room.

"One more thing," said the Boss in a low and very dangerously voice.

Naomi spun around. "_Hai_!"

"Whose uniform are you wearing and whose card did you use to reach the top floor?"

"Katana's," said Naomi.

The Boss closed his eyes, but otherwise made no response, though the girl could not even see this with his face still in shadow. She only heard him say, "You may go."

Naomi bowed respectfully and withdrew.

Spinning the chair around then, the Boss glared out the window at the lovely flowers in full bloom in the sheltered garden just below his office. The sun shone brightly with puffs of white cloud dabbing the sky above the blossomed sakura and ume trees rocking gently in the spring breeze.

"Have the security updated again," said the Boss.

Bowing, Mitori wrote on her clipboard.

"Too many pokémon trainers have made a fool of Team Rocket, and it will end. Trainees can get in here, and even with their pre knowledge of the base, it's too easy. I want the security doubled in fact, and Mitori …"

"Boss-sama," said the secretary with a very low bow.

"Contact Katana … have Apollo deal with her."

The secretary wrote in proper silence.

This was when the com told of a new visitor.

The secretary anticipating her master's wishes, pushed the com button on the desk for the Boss' reply.

"Who?" asked the Boss, still musing out the window and watching with a cold, predatory leer the small pidgey landing in branch close to the window.

"Dr. Shiranui."

The Boss nodded. Just on schedule.

"Send him in."

As the door opened, the first thing of the good doctor that could be seen was the tail end of a knowing smile toward Naomi who was just leaving for the corridor.

Turning to the room, Dr. Shiranui continued to smile, though with a tad more reserve now in the presence of the Boss. Even still, no one in the world was exempt from his half-mocking eyes, perpetually languid, and disturbingly comfortable, as if he stood apart from the world and the world was his to observe at his leisure as some sort of god.

That was good. Team Rocket benefitted greatly from his cold, mockery of the world. Giovanni only cared about results, and no one in the room was affected by the eerie chill he brought with him as if he was little more than a spider on the other side of the window pane; though, the Boss himself did not even turn to look at Shiranui. He saw his form well enough in the reflection of the glass to see when he stopped with a polite bow before his desk.

Mitori took it upon herself to close the door behind him as Shiranui had not taken the liberty himself to do so. This would need privacy however very little the good doctor cared about the rest of the world.

"Are the operations in the Orre Region going as planned?"

"Yes, Boss," said the doctor, his smile growing wild as he lifted his head from his bow. "Everything will be ready to be brought up into Kanto and Johto within the next couple months as planned. Dr. Namba is already setting up shop in northern Kanto as we speak."

"You could have told me such things just as easily over the phone," said the Boss, indicating that he wished the doctor to get to his point now.

A strange growl erupted from the persian as he lifted his head from the floor to Shiranui. The pokémon felt instantly his master's irritation, but as the Boss made no movement for anything serious, the pokémon lay his head back down on his arm; though, he did not entirely relax. Even he did not particularly like the doctor.

"Why have you come?" asked the Boss.

"For permission," said the good doctor, "permission to set up in Orre."

"Nothing of great value other than the information on the Shadow project is necessary."

"Except the cloak of rural security," said Dr. Shiranui.

Only now did the Boss' interest rouse, and turning his chair slightly, he leered at the doctor out of the corner of his eye.

"What do you propose?" he asked.

Outside the office, the woman listened intently at the door, but the woman was apparently no woman at all. Without the mask that had previously shielded the face, a lanky, but quite masculine face appeared with large, dark-rimmed eyes and receding, deep purple hair. He listened with interest, this master of disguise, to every word.

"Permission granted," the boss said at the end of the interview.

The man disguised, Lambda, pulled his feminine mask back on.

"For experimentation only," the Boss added. "I want to see the results before I think about the rest of your proposal."

"Of course, Boss," said the doctor. "I would have expected nothing less, but I promise you, I will not disappoint."

"We shall see," said the Boss. "And I want no word of this to get out to anyone outside of the project. You may go."

"_Arigatou gozaimasu_."

Returning to his desk, Lambda forced a smile, and resumed his womanly facade. The doctor hardly graced him with more than a quick glance; though, he certainly saw him as the woman he pretended to be.

Perhaps if Dr. Shiranui in his shrewdness would have seen past the disguise had he looked more carefully. As it was, the master of disguise retained his title and kept the secret he had not been meant to hear for himself. For now…


	2. Two Year Later

JMJ

CHAPTER ONE:

Two Years Later

"_KRRRREEEE—vah_!"

The eldritch cry echoed along the wind and over the thick green fields and bringing a chill to the otherwise calm, warm night. Anyone who may have heard it would have shivered to hear the sound cracking through the night unlike any pokémon in this part of the Kanto Region. Even the wild, nocturnal pokémon out and about had to stop from the silent nightly routines to listen a moment and wonder whether it was a predator's call or the call of some grieved creature.

But not everyone who was out on the field held this apparent chill or obliviousness. Two in particular were very aware, and if any chill at all ran down their spines, it would only be the chill of the moment, more the thrill of the hunt.

The rusted, wreck of farm truck rumbled to a stop strangely quiet for its appearance. At the top of a hill it came to rest, and the driver and passenger, a farmer and his wife stared out over the fields.

The wife leapt over the side of the open-roofed door and thrust a dramatic finger out into the brush below.

"There!" she hissed.

The husband under a broad, straw hat nodded, with a queer sort of smile tugging at his lip.

"I see it," said the farmer through his heavy orange beard. "Finally. _Results_."

From the pocket of her apron the wife snatched a pokéball and throwing it as hard as she could, she released in a blinding light a pokémon with which to pursue their prey.

"Go, Skarmory!" She cried. "Get the keva!"

At once the skarmory dove in for the brush where the creature, barely visible, lifted up her head on her long, spindly neck in alarm.

"For Team Rocket!" cried the farmer and his wife together, and they laughed in their pride.

"_KRRRREEEE_!" cried the creature in brush and instantly darted into a run.

The skarmory with a cry of its own began its pursuit.

"C'mon!" cried the farmer, who upon turning his head to the wife looked quite younger without his beard that he had suddenly ripped off his face.

Without bothering to consent, the wife, leapt back into the vehicle, and they drove after the two pokémon. They broke through bushes and trees, rattata, pidgey, and a few bug pokémon fled as the truck crunched through. Neither the farmer nor his wife took any notice, after all these little pokémon had no worth and they would not do damage to the vehicle, for its rusted front was just as much a phony as its driver's beard. They drove over the field, the ground rumbling beneath the pair as the farmer turned up the truck to full speed, for the skarmory and his prey were still gaining speed. The keva whooshed through the weeds with the veracity of her cry.

Then for a moment the truck lost the pokémon. A row of thick trees burst suddenly between them.

"Do you still see them!?" growled the farmer.

"No!" snapped the wife in return. "_Matte_, they're still just on the other side! Keep going!"

However, just as the wife spoke her last word, the truck, instead of complying, came to such a halt that the wife in her start nearly broke right through the wind shield. Swerving the wheel as hard as he could, the farmer just barely turned in time before his stop to keep the front wheels from rolling over the ledge.

And what a ledge! Down into the soft fields below, farmland as far as the eye could see below this the starry, summer night. A soft breeze blew past the dyed hair of the pair in the vehicle and whispered tauntingly to them in the trees of how their prey had gotten away.

"Where is it?" breathed the wife.

"Where's Skarmory?" the farmer demanded, and he leered darkly in the wife's direction.

She paid him no mind. Leaping out of the vehicle again, the wife scanned the area below but could see no sign of either creature.

"I didn't know that kevas could fly," she grumbled. "Those wings don't look like they'd be able to carry her."

The farmer shrugged, but the leer did not yet leave his face. "Skarmory's don't exactly look airworthy either."

Suddenly a metallic swoop, something akin to the sound of the chains of a playground swing swept behind them, and turning, they saw Skarmory landing behind them empty handed.

"Where is the keva?" demanded the wife of the pokémon.

The farmer, with a low growl, closed his eyes and slumped into his seat with defeat. Muttering something under his breath about the uselessness of assigned pokémon as he rubbed his temples, he then lifted his head to the wife and called, "C'mon, Yamato! Stop wasting time!"

Returning Skarmory to his ball, Yamato turned around and leaned idly against the door.

"It got away for now," she said.

"Well, we still don't need to be wasting any more time out here," he replied. "If anyone sees us, it could blow our cover. I saw a couple kids already poking around where they don't belong earlier today."

"_Soo da_," agreed the wife with a sigh.

This time, she pulled open the car door and climbed inside beside her partner.

Blowing a strand of hair from her face that had escaped her otherwise tight, pink bun, she leaned back in her seat, and the farmer revved up the vehicle for its return but stopped suddenly as he glared down over the cliff once more.

"What?" demanded the wife.

"I think I see it," said the farmer. "It's down by that little shack down there."

The wife leaned forward and leered out of the windshield window. Just barely did she make out the moving shape of ruffled body and scooping beak atop that spindly neck. It fluttered as a silhouette upon the dimly lit cottage of a house below, one of the only houses in the whole valley.

"I don't think we'll need our cover much longer," said the wife.

"Me neither."

If luck went their way, they would have the creature in the hands of Team Rocket before the sun had fully risen, and dawn was already upon them.

#

Nyaasu remembered the wedding fondly, or rather he remembered the refreshments afterwards with great relish. The wedding cake happened to be sublime — ten layers and real custard filled it with delicious vanilla cream for frosting _—_ and the caviar proved as rich as spiffy pants rich food could taste! The delicate red wine, and not to mention the shushi orderves had been more than lovely. Just thinking about it all made the cat's mouth water.

The wedding on the other hand, Nyaasu remembered rather oddly. After all that time of teasing Kojiro and teasing Musashi about liking each other, after all those photos he mocked them with of them at their more snuggly moments, it had never really occurred to Nyaasu that they would actually settle down and get married. Almost two years had passed and Nyaasu still was not sure he believed it had happened.

Besides, the caviar tasted a bit too dreamily to have been real, yet here he was now eating breakfast in a small house that they had managed to build mostly by themselves. No longer members of Team Rocket, no longer even residents at the Niwa Estate, and Kojiro and Musashi, not only a married couple but recently parents as well.

Here, believe it or not, Kojiro lived an independent man, working in town earning money on his own and supporting his wife who helped in her own way with fixing up and making kimonos and other traditional clothing for festivals and the like to sell. She had to do something, and both she and Kojiro knew how to make costumes. Nyaasu too helped somewhat, making contraptions and gadgets that sold fairly well in town. Basically Kojiro had decided to not have to rely on his estate money but to try to live fresh in this way; though, his parents often asked him if he needed money (they kept in contact all the time to make sure everything was going well and Kojiro was always rather happy that they did rather than annoyed as Nyaasu thought he should be).

What made Nyaasu most unsure of the reality of his situation; however, was the tiny, pink bundle of joy, as they were called, now fast asleep in the cradle. It had been a month or two now, but Nyaasu still could not escape the oddness of the idea of Musashi and Kojiro having offspring.

Could anybody?

Musashi and Kojiro themselves apparently did not, for they could hardly keep their eyes off of her, as if she would disappear like a mirage in the desert at any given moment. Even now, they leaned over the cradle with arms relaxing lazily over the side and dreamy, goofy smiled on their faces just as they had all afternoon.

"She's so beautiful …" Kojiro sighed, looking liable to melt into the floor at any moment.

"So squishy," agreed Musashi with a quiet squee.

Kojiro made a little squeal as well, and closing his eyes and clenching his fists together with unstoppable emotion he now seemed more as if he would explode rather than melt.

"So _little_!" he barely whispered.

"Baby, baby," Musashi cooed as she snuggled into Kojiro's side.

Unprepared for her, Kojiro had to catch his balance as Musashi's weight fell upon him, but as soon as he recovered he grabbed Musashi tightly in return.

"Bara-chan," he breathed.

"Bara-chan," Musashi agreed.

"Our, pink, little _hana_," said Kojiro.

The tiny body of the infant lifted and fell with each new baby breath. Her head carried just the faintest hint of dark purple hair in a hue somewhere in between the raspberry of her mother and the lavender of her father. So far that appeared to be the only sign of whom she had been born to. All human babies looked pretty much the same to Nyaasu. Her wide, round eyes with which she beheld the world when awake shared their simplicity though, Nyaasu had to admit, and now that he rarely saw a sinister glint in either of his former Team Rocket partner's eyes, he could honestly say they were always almost childishly simple these days.

"So perfect!" Musashi said.

"We could have picked you from a rose garden," Kojiro told his sleeping daughter.

"Uh … guys, nya?" Nyaasu asked finally from behind.

Slowly the pair pried their blissful faces off of dear Bara and turned to Nyaasu behind their shoulders, the cat giving them a pout like that of a jealous older sibling.

"Don't you have other things to do, nya?" Nyaasu asked lightly. "She's not going anywhere, you know. She's just sleeping."

Musashi laughed. "Oh, what do you know?"

"That I wouldn't really like a bunch of people staring at me while I was sleeping, nya," said Nyaasu.

"We're not just a bunch of people," Kojiro pointed out. "We're her mommy and her daddy."

"Besides, she's a baby," said Musashi.

"We'll go finish housework soon," Kojiro said.

Nyaasu shrugged. "Yeah, well, you two have fun with that then, nya."

He did not roll his eyes until he turned away.

_Weirdos_, he thought.

At least now was a good opportunity for cat time. The surrounding area of the house had been picked out perfectly, and though it really was only no more than twenty miles from the Niwa Estate, it was as if they were completely isolated from the rest of the world as far as Nyaasu felt concerned. Nyaasu as the cat of the house had a whole world completely to himself, and he had often heard it said that Kanto was too industrialized for that.

He claimed every tree and every shrub. The wide open sky was his, the wildflowers, which he leapt about and played in were his. Even the creek and the stones were his, not to mention the fish. Not a human or another cat and certainly no dog (except Gar-Chan, but he stayed out of Nyaasu's way) for miles! It was glorious! Cat paradise!

Out here, Nyaasu completely forgot about everything else. He even forgot he had lived anywhere else. He chased the crickets, and batted the reeds, and lazed in the sun on rocks and logs and in trees. And with a nice, warm house with a silly, young couple who would feed him when he returned to the house, it made life as close to perfect as a cat life could get. The only thing that would have made it better would have been that he no longer felt jealous when he saw Musashi and Kojiro together in a way he never had any luck in with female felines.

"But, I guess, you can't have everything, nya," Nyaasu told himself.

Now, of course, as I said all thought and worry left him now as he went outside. With paws behind his head as he lay down in a low branch in a tree, he watched the pidgeys fly happily over his head. Too high to be caught, and he was too lazy to try to catch them. He had already had such a good romp with the crickets that the hypnotic movement of the birds would soon have him lulled to sleep.

Just as a soft dream as gentle as the summer breeze began to seep in, however, he heard it.

A strange call over the fields.

"_KRRRREEEE—vah_!" the cry echoed in all directions, vibrating through his sensitive feline ears.

Nyaasu lifted a curious eye.

Lots of strange noises swept this rural landscape at times, but Nyaasu knew it was of no pokémon he was familiar with unless the sound had been distorted by the distance or the echo. He would have paid it no further mind and fallen back to sleep, but the sound he heard next made him rather annoyed.

Something was moving through the brush very near his tree, and with a low grumble, Nyaasu pulled himself up and glared down.

Then he let out a cry as in a burst of blue and red and orange a strange creature exploded out of the brush like a feathered rainbow. It leapt right up over Nyaasu's branch, and a face full of feathers almost caused him to fall out of the tree. Before he could know fully what had happened he barely snatched onto to the next branch to keep from falling, and when he looked up again, the creature had vanished.

Nyaasu spat out the feathers and brushed them away as he resituated himself on his branch. Leering in the direction the creature had gone, he wondered what in the world that could have been.

In its place, unfortunately was something Nyaasu considered far worse, for the skarmory which next came out of the brush from which the first creature had come, had its claws aimed just for Nyaasu.

"NYAH!" Nyaasu cried, and this time he did fall out of the tree.

At least he missed the metallic skarmory claws which ravaged the tree branch upon which Nyaasu had been sitting into a mangled mess.

Skarmory did not live in the Kanto Region!

_He must belong to somebody_, Nyaasu thought, and he surmised that he belonged to whoever approached now, for he heard the shouts of humans not far away.

Scrambling to his feet, Nyaasu turned to make himself scarce, but the moment he was about to leap into the brush, the wild-eyed skarmory blocked Nyaasu's path with a savage beak attempting to slice the poor cat in two.

"Nya! Wait, wait! _Matte_!" Nyaasu cried. "I'm ny-ot who you're after, nya!"

Something strange emanated from this creature. The rage in its eyes seemed to glow with a poison purple flame, although too faint for normal human detection unless one was paying very close attention, but Nyaasu could see it quite distinctly, maybe sensed is the more proper word. This was no mere anger about missing his prey, this pokémon was uncannily angry. It reminded Nyaasu a little of something he had witnessed in a few Team Rocket experiments, except that there was no mechanism on his body that Nyaasu could see.

Nyaasu stumbled backward.

With eyes that told Nyaasu he was ready for the kill, the skarmory opened his beak once more and—

"Skarmory!" snapped a disturbingly familiar voice.

"Nya?"

The skarmory threw up his head and screamed angrily over Nyaasu's sprawled body and into the direction of the voice.

"I heard someone," said another voice as equally familiar in the way that Nyaasu wished it wasn't.

"A nyaasu!" gasped two humans in surprise.

Nyaasu threw his face around despite the skarmory, and saw in full uniform, who else? Oh, Murphy loved Nyaasu! Who else but Kosaburo and Yamato, and they were glaring right at him.

* * *

_NOTE: If you haven't already guessed, the keva is a nod to Kevin in Up XD_

JAPANESE PHRASES:

_Matte: wait_

_Soo da: right_

_Hana: flower_


	3. Old Friends

JMJ

CHAPTER TWO:

Old Friends

"Oh, great, nya!" Nyaasu growled.

They had already heard him. There was no use pretending he was some other nyaasu, and escape with the skarmory still snarling above his head, proved not an option at the moment.

"Yamato and Kosanji, nya," Nyaasu added, crossing his arms defiantly; though, he kept a close watch on Skarmory out of the corner of his eyes.

The previously straight and proudly standing Kosaburo instantly broke into a savage snarl. The previously straight and proudly standing Yamato slapped her forehead and groaned.

"_Kosaburo_!" Kosaburo screamed, and after a short pause added, "Stupid cat! I don't see you for years and, and …" He stiffened and resumed his former position as a proper field agent, and said with deep disdain, "Where are the other two?"

"Other two, nya?" asked Nyaasu innocently.

"_SCARRRR_!" the Skarmory shrieked.

"Nya!" Nyaasu spun around and dove into the bushes behind Kosaburo's and Yamato's legs.

"You know!" sniffed Yamato. "We haven't seen them in a while. We almost thought you three were dead."

"Well, you can go on believing that," Nyaasu retorted, "cuz we're ny-ot gun-nya be in your way! I sure don't want to get in the way of you and your comedian."

"_Baka_," Kosaburo grumbled.

"Oh, sticks and stones, nya," said Nyaasu sticking out his tongue.

"How 'bout Skarmory takes care of you?" muttered Yamato haughtily.

At the sound of his name, Skarmory let out a deafening screech.

"You're after it too, aren't you?" Yamato demanded.

"Nya? _Ny-ani_?" Nyaasu demanded.

"Well, you tell that wanabe Musashi that she and her wussy puppy dog aren't getting in on this mission," said Yamato. "They're not invited."

"So if you know what's good for you," said Kosaburo with a slow, cruel smile, "you'll beat it, or we'll take _you_ in as well. We could always use an extra pokémon for the shadow project."

Nyaasu's eyes widened. Although not exactly threatened by these two jerks, he knew that one command given to skarmory and he would be at their mercy, and Nyaasu had no intention of finding out what the shadow project entailed.

"Who knows," Yamato laughed. "Maybe you'll finally become useful."

"Nya!" Nyaasu growled.

"So where are they?" Yamato snapped.

"Uh … well," Nyaasu said placing a pondering paw to his chin as he looked up at the sky as if for an answer. Then quite suddenly he looked down brightly. "You'll have to catch me first, nya." And he dashed in a wild flash into the brush.

"Hey!" he heard the jerks cry, but they did not pursue him far. They had a job to do and would not risk their prey getting too far ahead.

Nyaasu just kept on running as fast as he could until he reached the house where he flung open the door and slammed it shut behind him. Panting and gasping for breath, he slumped to the floor as she slid against the door and let out a sigh of relief.

#

Musashi danced into the kitchen like a little girl, and with a broad grin, she peered over Nyaasu's shoulder and into the cooking pot. Her mind was more on her daughter than the food. Just thinking of that tiny living, breathing baby, hers to love, to care for and to raise into a beautiful girl made her want to sing. She brought her good mood with her as she lifted Nyaasu's spoon away to taste the stew.

"Hey!" Nyaasu said. "It's not done, nya!"

Sipping, Musashi licked her lips and returned the spoon deftly into Nyaasu's paws.

"Good, but not enough miso," said Musashi.

"As mother of the household, you could start learning how to cook, nya," Nyaasu offered.

"Why should I if I have a cat who knows how just fine," Musashi retorted. "Besides that's how you earn your keep." And she grinned.

"Cat's don't earn their keep," said Nyaasu, "they steal their keep."

"Fine then," said Musashi with a wave her hand, and reaching for the refrigerator, she scooped up a package of miso paste, "but Kojiro won't let you stay if he finds out you're a thief."

"Nya," Nyaasu shrugged, stirring the stew mindlessly. "Where is the happy bugger anyway?"

"Kojiro?" Musashi asked lightly, "With Bara-chan."

She bumped the fridge shut with the side of her knee and set the package on the counter. A new package, it needed the plastic stripped off.

"She's awake, nya?" teased Nyaasu as Musashi completed her task. "How did you many-age to pull yourself away from Baby, nya?"

"Well, I had to make sure you were getting along with the food and not going to eat if for yourself," Musashi told him with a shrug. "Besides, I figured you could use some help down here by yourself."

"Putting in too much miso isn't going to help, nya" Nyaasu muttered.

"Don't be silly!" Musashi exclaimed, a broad grin returning to her face, and grabbing a spoon she scooped out a big slug of the bean paste and plopped it into the soup before Nyaasu could do anything to prevent it.

"Nya …" Nyaasu sighed.

"What? You like rice and fish better anyway," said Musashi.

"Does everything have to be so overbearing, nya?" Nyaasu complained.

"What did I just say?" Musashi returned. "And someone has to fish for them. Buying fish is expensive."

"Nya …" was all Nyaasu said again.

As Musashi returned to her package of miso for another spoonful, Nyaasu lifted his head and eyed the movements of her hand with annoyance. She neared the pot, but just before she turned her hand over to flip the miso in, the cat barred her way.

"Oh, n-yo you don't!" Nyaasu cried. "You haven't even tried what you put in there yet, nya!"

"Don't be a party poop," Musashi sniffed.

This time as she attempted to put her miso in where she believed its proper place, a loud voice cried from behind, "We're here to see how breakfast's going!" Kojiro swung into the kitchen with the baby in his arms.

The baby let out a squeal.

Sniffing the air, Kojiro wrinkled his nose.

"It smells kinda strong, Nyaasu," Kojiro said. "I think you put in too much miso."

Nyaasu slammed his head again the counter.

"What's wrong with him?" Kojiro wanted to know.

But before Musashi could answer, Gar-Chan who previous to this had been lying under the table with an eye on the cooking pot, suddenly leapt to his feet in full alert. The trio all stopped to look at the dog uneasily.

"Gar-Chan?" Musashi said.

Leering forward, the dog let out a low gruff sound halfway between a bark and a growl, and then after lifting an ear to listen a moment he began to bark. Bara started to cry as a result; merely exploding in Kojiro's arms, and Kojiro immediately let out a shriek that seemed to make it all the worse.

"Bara-chan!" he cried, hugging the baby and trying very hard to make her stop as she rocked her gently. "Bara-chan …!" His teeth clenched; the baby would not be calmed.

"Kojiro! Lemme take her!" cried Musashi.

"What's wrong with Gar-Chan?" Kojiro cried back.

"Maybe he thinks it smells too strong too, nya" Nyaasu muttered.

"Nya!" he then cried as Musashi in her haste to grab the baby, knocked Nyaasu off the stool.

As he lost his balance, the cat took the pot of soup with him to the floor, and Musashi just as she took hold of the baby witnessed this scene out of the corner of her eye, for she saw the wincing of Kojiro anticipating the fall. Gar-Chan meanwhile, ran right past all and darted for a nearby window at which he continued to bark wildly.

"Our _breakfast_!" Musashi screamed, the Bara-chan still sobbing in her arm.

Musashi did not have time to deal with breakfast at the moment.

"Oh …" she moaned. "Baby, baby, please stop crying!"

#

"There it is!"

Kosaburo followed his partner's finger to the roof of the house. There the creature stood, inspecting the plant debris on the shingles and listening to the din echoing from inside. Why in the world the keva wanted to roost there was beyond him, but pokémon were stupid, so one hardly had to think over it long. What annoyed Kosaburo was the fact that they had to sneak by a place with people obviously living inside. Loud people, who no doubt would phone the police on careless agents, but perhaps the people would prove too busy with their own arguments to notice a pair of pokémon poachers slip onto their roof and snatch their prey.

After months of chasing the keva all through the Sinnoh Region and even further up north than that, they had come too far to lose from any obstacle. They had already caught it once, but it had escaped on their return to Kanto. Dr. Namba told them that the Boss demanded progress, not that they really needed the geezer to tell them that, but they spent far too much time trying to capture this thing. Sure the keva was rare; he had never heard of the pokémon until Dr. Namba told them about it, yet there seemed nothing all too special about it otherwise in comparison even to garidos right here in Kanto. In a way that was what made Kosaburo all the more determined not to be made a fool by it.

It was just a dumb bird that could barely fly! There was no way he would let the keva get away now!

Yamato reached for a pokéball at her belt, and she readied herself to release Skarmory. She pressed the button to enlarge the ball full size before releasing it, but at a sudden thought Kosaburo grabbed her wrist.

"What?" Yamato demanded.

"I got a better idea," he said. "These are probably just stupid country people."

"I'm listening," said Yamato placing the pokéball back into its spot at her belt.

#

"Our breakfast …" Kojiro sighed with an exaggerated slump as he stared down at the slop on the floor.

"Breakfast!" snapped Nyaasu, now upright on his feet and very angry. "What about me, nya! It's all over me!"

"Sorry," said Kojiro with some annoyance.

"That stupid dog, nya! It's all his fault!"

"No!" Kojiro protested. "There's gotta be something wrong. Gar-Chan doesn't bark for no reason!"

In the background, Musashi was still trying to calm little Bara down, but it did not seem to be doing much good. Bara still cried and very loudly. Whatever had upset her had upset her very much!

Looking thoughtful a moment, despite the noise, Kojiro tapped his chin and then said, "We could just go into town and eat at a restaurant."

"Can you bring Baby?" asked Nyaasu, wiping slop from his arms.

"Sure, she'll stop crying," Kojiro insisted.

Nyaasu licked the palm of his paw and instantly stuck his tongue out with distaste. "We weren't missing much anye-way, nya."

Opening his mouth to say something, Kojiro lifted a finger.

"I—"

_Ding, dong_!

"Someone's at the door," said Musashi.

Thankfully, the crying was subsiding a little. It would not be long before Musashi had her calmed down; though, Gar-Chan still barked at the window.

"I'll bet you're hungry," Musashi cooed to her little daughter.

"_I'm_ starving, nya," Nyaasu said.

"Then go eat," Musashi told him.

"Nya!" Nyaasu complained.

Musashi rolled her eyes. "We don't need two babies, you know?"

_Ding, dong!_

"I'll get it," Kojiro offered, and he made a dash for the door.

They did not get many visitors. Curiosity burned in him to know who it was. He hoped he would not find some sort of salesman. He hated it when they showed up to disappoint him, especially since, he usually ended up buying something as a result no matter how many times he told himself he wouldn't.

If it was a salesman, Kojiro would just have to say "no" before they even got started. Slam the door in his face if he had to, but hopefully it would be something interesting. Maybe the nearest neighbors had come over for some reason, or maybe he, Musashi, and Nyaasu won that contest they entered.

Kojiro opened the door, and the instant he did, the people on the doorstep looked surprised not him. They nearly leapt in their start, in fact, the farmer and his wife.

They seemed to recognize him, but Kojiro could not recall where _he_ had seen these people before. The farmer in his full orange beard and broad straw hat did not look like anyone he knew, nor the wife, her hair a loose bun in a bandana and her thick glasses quite out of date. Something felt familiar about both of them, Kojiro had to admit, but he could not figure it out as he stared with gaping mouth from one to the other and back again.

"_Konnichiwa_," he finally said rather timidly.

Gar-Chan at the moment decided to appear, and though, Kojiro tried to stop him, the dog was determined to get out. He ran behind the house with a serious mission.

After he and his wife watched the growlithe round the corner, the farmer's face fell into a deep, skeptical frown back to Kojiro. The wife, after glancing briefly at her husband, returned to Kojiro also but with a slow, somewhat conniving smile, and she cleared her throat.

"Good morning, sir," said the wife. "We hate to disturb you, but our _very_ naughty pokémon is on your roof. We were going to just get her down, but we thought it would be rude to climb up there without telling you."

"Really?" asked Kojiro leaning out of the doorway a little as if he would be able to see the creature on the roof from where he stood. He muttered then, "That's probably what's got Gar-Chan all riled up."

"_Hai_! Really!" exclaimed the wife.

"Do you need help?" asked Kojiro, still rather suspicious himself, and his suspicion no doubt littered his face, for the farmer started to look rather amused by his befuddlement.

As the farmer took his turn to smile, his smile too turned wry, and he said, "Yes, why don't you help us."

The wife threw the farmer a savage leer, but she quickly pacified it. "_Darling_, are you sure we couldn't just handle this on our own."

There was something slightly sarcastic in the manner in which she said this.

The farmer nodded strangely towards Kojiro, and Kojiro's frown turned into a very childish scowl as he watched the wife seem to realize something that her husband was conveying.

A light smile returning to her face, the wife said, "Yes, well, I suppose it will only take a minute."

"Just a minute, dear," the farmer agreed to his wife.

"Have we met before?"

"Maybe you can use your growlithe to help us," said the wife as if she had not heard. "I'm sure his flame thrower will come in handy, and growlithes do herd, don't they?"

"By nature," said Kojiro, and hesitating a little, he then added, "but he's not trained for it or—"

The wife laughed. "Oh, that doesn't matter! I'm sure he'll be lots of help. _Arigatou_ _gozaimasu_!"

And with that, the couple led the way out of the house even though Kojiro had not exactly said anything about helping. They pointed in unison to the rainbow-hued bird which apparently felt quite comfortable on the roof. She had no intention of either fleeing or coming down towards them. Gar-Chan, with a whimper, pointed a nose up towards the creature too, and at his master's approach, he hurried over to him and gave a simple bark.

"You know, darling," said the farmer's wife to the farmer. "Is fire good against keva?"

"Well, far better than steel, I think," said the farmer with a shrug.

"That doesn't look like a steel," said Kojiro.

"_Kree_?" asked the keva, cocking her head to Kojiro curiously.

"No, we _have_ a steel, silly," said the wife with a laugh.

"Well, we may not need it, after all," said the farmer. "I think with growlithe burning her, a grass would work nicely for a vine whip to bring her down."

And taking a pokéball from a pocket, he released a tangella.

"What do you think?" asked the farmer.

There was something strange about this tangella. Kojiro had seen many tangella before, but this one gave him the chills. He did not know why. Gar-Chan sensed something too, for he growled dangerously. This made Kojiro feel even more uneasy, but Gar-Chan had been growling at the keva too, and the keva, although Kojiro had never seen one before, looked pretty normal to him.

Kojiro cleared his throat.

Maybe it was just him.

"So she won't come if called?" asked Kojiro.

"No," said the farmer.

"It's a very disobedient pokémon," said the wife.

"_Kree,_" said the keva.

"Could we try to coax it first?" asked Kojiro.

"Be my guest," said the wife.

"Okay," Kojiro said, and grabbing a ladder from the side of the house, he pressed it up to the roof and climbed up. Reaching out a hand, he called, "Come on, Keva, come here. Your masters want you to come home now."

Again the keva cocked her head, but instead of complying, as Kojiro's hand neared her, she lifted her beak as if to bite it. Kojiro withdrew his hand just in time, but the keva took it upon herself to chase the intruder away. Lifting her beak again, she gave three sharp pecks on the top of his head.

"_Ita_! _Ita_! _Ita_!" Kojiro cried haltingly at each peck.

He slipped back down to the ground, clutching his throbbing head.

"We tried to tell you," said the wife with some amusement.

"Well, okay, then," said Kojiro, but not without a wary glance to the tangella, which for some reason made him worry that it might attack him at any given moment in a way that would hurt far more than the pecking he had just received. He rubbed the sores on his head. "Gar-Chan, flame thrower on the keva."

"Gra!" snorted the growlithe but did as commanded.

The keva almost got away too, but singed enough to make her loose her balance in flight, she fell towards the ground with a cry.

"Shadow vine!" ordered the farmer.

The tangella, with an eerie screech, did as commanded, and to Kojiro's surprise, he saw not a simple vine emerge from the shrub-like body of the tangella, but a strange, dark cord that almost glowed with a poisonous glint. It zoomed through the air, and caught the keva; its grip knocking the wind out of her nearly instantly.

Then with a great ball in hand, the farmer captured the keva.

As the farmer and the wife turned their backs in gleeful triumph, Kojiro felt a tug at his shirt sleeve. At his feet, Nyaasu had appeared out of nowhere in his catlike manner.

"What?" Kojiro whispered, leaning down to the cat.

"That's Yamato and Kosanji, nya," Nyaasu whispered back.

* * *

_**JAPANESE PHRASES**_

_Baka: _idiot/stupid

_(Ny-ani) Nani: _what

_Konnichiwa: _hello

_Hai: _yes

_Arigatou_ _gozaimasu: _thank you (formal)

_Ita: _ouch


	4. The Thieves and the Former

JMJ

CHAPTER THREE:

The Thieves and the Former

Kojiro stiffened, and rising to his feet, his eyes widened upon the pair as they turned calmly around with faces just barely hiding their inward jeering of him. Kosaburo and Yamato. That would explain why they gave such a start when they saw Kojiro at the door. They probably would not have expected to see him at the house in a million years!

How did Nyaasu know if was them, though? Kojiro eyed the cat suspiciously. He had been acting a little strange yesterday, Kojiro now recalled. But whatever the reason Nyaasu knew, Kosaburo and Yamato did not yet know that Kojiro knew their identity nor that Kojiro knew that they knew his.

"Thank you very much! Growlithes are quite clever beasts," said the farmer's wife who was really Yamato in disguise (she had a fairly good disguise, Kojiro had to admit, with her pink bun and old fashioned glasses and fake saggy cheeks for age), and she said then to the farmer who was really her partner Kosaburo, similarly well-disguised for the male part. "Isn't he, darling?"

Their disguises had almost always been flawless when they needed to be, but then they had always the Team Rocket support and Dr. Namba paid for almost everything they did.

"We couldn't have done it without it," said the farmer with a shrug.

Should he just go inside and tell Musashi? No, they would be gone before he would have time to get her.

Sensing the uneasiness of his master, or maybe he was just still suspicious of the tangella, Gar-Chan stood in front of Kojiro and growled dangerously.

Should he play along for now?

But Kojiro was saved the trouble of having to decide, for Yamato and Kosaburo decided for him. They found Kojiro no large threat, and with not even his partner around they could certainly afford to toy with him and reveal for him themselves their true identity. After a sinister laugh they began.

All Kojiro could do was let his mouth drop as he knew exactly what they were about to do.

_Well, did you forget about the flare of Team Rocket already, Kojiro? _A voice much like Nyaasu's asked dryly in the back of his head.

_I was hoping I could_, he replied back.

"_If anyone asks us this or that …_" Yamato started.

"_The answer we'll give is society's revolution …_" Kosaburo added.

"_For world destruction to come to an end …_"

"_For world peace to be the only end_ …"

"_To penetrate the evils of love and truth_ …"

"_The clever and charismatic villains_ …"

"_Yamato_!" One disguise thrown off was replaced by the black uniform with the immortalized "R".

Everything save her pink hair (apparently dyed) had her looking exactly the way Kojiro remembered her. Petite, lovely, and very deadly looking.

"_Kosaburo_!" The other disguise was replaced as well, but though the orange beard easily had been tossed aside, his hair had been dyed to match it and was still orange.

Although boyish bangs covered down to his eyes, he looked far manlier than Kojiro had in his agenting days. The fact that he was taller than his female partner and had a pair of broad, young shoulders had something to do with it, though. Kojiro on the other hand was nearly the same height as Musashi, and had a slimmer, softer build that in times past had made Kojiro somewhat envious of Kosaburo, but only until someone called him Kosanji.

"_Team Rocket, to the moon, to the stars and beyond_ ..."

"_Our white hole… our white tomorrow is imminent_!"

"_Est-ce que s'éclaire_?" Yamato then added flaunting a bit of French.

"Ratticate!" cried a strange rat creature popping up out of nowhere.

"Oh, wow, nya," Nyaasu muttered. "You still keep that thing around, nya, nya …" he growled, "We kny-ew it was you, nya! You're disguises stink, motto stealers! Nyah!"

Both smiles turned very vile as if they had been merely waiting all along for either Nyaasu or Kojiro to guess their secret and had revealed themselves because they had been unable to wait any longer.

With a laugh, Yamato said," But it fooled poor little Kojiro, and its far better than your disguises."

Gar-Chan barked and growled as if to say that if the pair came any close he would not hesitate to burn them.

"Yeah, well, he's gullible, nya, that's ny-othing to crow over, nya," Nyaasu snorted.

Kojiro glowered involuntarily at the blunt insult, but kept his mouth shut on the matter.

"Well, we already told you that you and your humans aren't getting in our way this time," scoffed Yamato.

Kojiro stepped forward. He was not sure what he was going to do exactly. He knew had to do something, but he was not prepared for the simple command.

"Tangella, shadow rush," Kosaburo said it so naturally and so calmly that at first Kojiro did not comprehend what he had said.

As the tangella readied its furious beam, Kojiro suddenly realized what Kosaburo and Yamato were still after.

"Gar-Chan!" he cried, but his voice was cut off in the sudden rush of blue-violet color.

Not even Nyaasu proved fast enough to escape and found himself struck with the burning and the stinging of the unnatural rays just the same as Kojiro. With heart nearly skipping over a beat of two and eyes dancing with swirls of black and blue and purple even after his eyes closed, Kojiro collapsed onto the ground beside Nyaasu. Consciousness left him with only the raging cry of the tangella and the agents' cruel laughter before all went black for him.

Mere moments after Kosaburo and Yamato dashed off with their new prize, Musashi burst out of the house.

"What's going on here?" she demanded as she rounded the corner. "I heard someone cackling out—_Kojiro_!"

#

"They took Gar-Chan," said Kojiro sadly, and he squeezed his eyes shut. "They took Gar-Chan! They took my _Gar-Chan_!"

"Calm down, Koji boy, you're starting to sound like the brat boy, nya," said Nyaasu.

Kojiro slammed his face onto the table in front of him.

"Oh, don't listen to him," Musashi said, giving Nyaasu a light shove, and she stroked Kojiro's back gently and kissed his head. "We'll get him back, you'll see. They can't get away with this."

Only a heavy sigh came as answer, but Kojiro slowly lifted his head after a pause.

With eyes full of sympathy Musashi hugged Kojiro tightly. It was not fair that it had to be Gar-Chan, Musashi understood. It was like a piece of Kojiro being stolen away in a way, Musashi did not doubt it. Before Kojiro had made up with his parents and married Musashi, Gar-Chan had been the only piece of his life unsoiled by either the fears of estate duties or the wild clutches of Team Rocket. He might as well have been invincible, that dog, but now, for the first time, Musashi thought about how much that Gar-Chan was just that — a dog, and a valuable pokémon as far as Team Rocket would be concerned.

She handed Kojiro some tea, which he took rather absently, but at least he began to drink some.

"I won't forgive myself if anything bad happens to him," Kojiro sobbed.

"Nothing will happen to him," Musashi snapped. "We'll get him back!"

"How?" Kojiro wanted to know. "They could be anywhere!"

"Uh … well … the police probably aren't going to do any good," Musashi admitted, "and that kid isn't around to ask him."

"Ah, they'll be back, nya," Nyaasu muttered.

Musashi threw the cat a skeptical glance. "Why should they? And why didn't you say something about them before?"

"I didn't think it would matter, nya!" Nyaasu spat, fur bristling. "How was I supposed to kny-ow that stupid bird would land on our house, nya?!"

With a roll of her eyes and a low mutter, Musashi turned away.

"And … I kny-ow they'll probably be back, cuz they might want this, nya," said Nyaasu, and both pairs of human eyes grew wide at the great ball in Nyaasu's paws.

"Huh?" Musashi demanded, snatching the ball away.

"Careful, nya," Nyaasu teased, "that's pretty valuable stuff."

Kojiro, whose sorrows were momentarily relieved, stared wide-eyed and almost fearful. "How'd you get that?"

"Well, they were so busy with their copyright infringement that they didn't notice clever and charismatic kitty paws, nya," Nyaasu laughed.

At first Musashi felt a laugh of her own emerging, but she stopped quite suddenly as she realized the full meaning of the fact that Kosaburo and Yamato would be back. Stricken suddenly rigid, she turned with full rage to Nyaasu.

"_Baka_!"

"Nya! What?" Nyaasu screamed.

"They'll break in here and trash the whole house for it and—" Without thinking she threw the ball on the ground.

In a spark of sci-fi light the keva emerged, but no one seemed to notice the keva's confusion as she looked around the late morning kitchen with curious cocks of her head.

It was at the moment that Kojiro realized too exactly what Musashi feared, and standing upright in his chair, he gasped, "Bara-chan!"

"_Kreeeeeeee_!" cried the keva, and she pecked Musashi on the head.

"Ack!" she cried.

Nyaasu shook his head and crossed his arms with pity at his companions' short-sightedness. Musashi had a strong urge to slug him between the eyes, but she waited to see what the cat had to say first. Sometimes he did have insight, after all. Then she would slug him.

"They wouldn't get anywhere ny-ear Bara," said Nyaasu, closing his eyes importantly.

Blinking in Nyaasu's direction, the keva cocked her head strangely, and now gave Nyaasu's head a sharp peck.

"_Nya_-ack!" Nyaasu cried, and he shoved the beak away. "Cut that out!"

"What are you talking about Nyaasu?" Kojiro wanted to know.

"Kreh?" asked the keva.

"I have a plan, nya," said Nyaasu brightly. "Just because we're ny-ot Team Rocket agents anymore doesn't mean I can't be the brains of the outfit, nya."

"We'll see about that," Musashi muttered, and picking up the keva's great ball, she returned her.

"Nya," Nyaasu moaned, rubbing his head where the keva had pecked.

Kojiro winced. "Uh … you guys okay?"

"I'm fine," said Musashi and turned to Nyaasu. "So what's the plan?"

"Yeah, what's the plan?" Kojiro cried. "Tell us, Nyaasu!"

#

Needless to say, neither Kosaburo nor Yamato happened to be at all pleased to find that half way back to the base they no longer had the keva in their possession. Certainly, a growlithe proved fairly decent as catches go, but growlithes were not all too rare, not as common as snubbuls in Johto but one could easily enough buy growlithe puppies for less than fifty yen even as hardy and strong as they were. That keva! That keva! That keva!

It would be the death of them, Kosaburo would not wonder, but he did not complain after the initial discovery that those idiots had tricked them.

"Why are they even Team Rocket agents?" Yamato wanted to know.

It was those idiots who were to blame for all this: always getting in the way of Team Rocket official business with their hair-brained ideas and infantile curiosity and pride. That certainly would be no excuse if anyone happened to check on Yamato and Kosaburo's progress, however.

Kosaburo raised a brow. "You're asking that _now_?" With a shake of his head, he added, "We're professionals. We'll stop them."

"But what are they doing exactly?" asked Yamato.

"How should I know?" asked Kosaburo with light shrug, and he steered the jeep around a rough pit. "They're morons. Setting up a base for some idiotic operation of theirs, probably."

"But you don't think they were after the keva too?" asked Yamato.

"How would they know anything about the keva?" Kosaburo demanded. "They're too stupid for that, aren't they?"

"Unless they happened upon it all by accident," Yamato replied. "They've done that before." She paused a moment to brush back her bangs, now the usual cherry blond since she had washed out that pink dye, and plopping her chin in her hand, she rested her elbow along the open window. "Maybe the growlithe has something to do with it. It's just so exasperating that after almost three years of not seeing a hint of them all the sudden they show up out of nowhere and try to steal our mission like that's their only purpose in life. We just better hope that that kid they're always following around isn't nearby. He's worse than that other kid in the jumpsuit."

Kosaburo only clicked the roof of his mouth as a response.

Looking up Yamato then said in a better tone, "So what do we do?"

"Take it back, what else?" Kosaburo replied flippantly. "With our shadow pokémon they won't stand a chance. Not even those kids will stand a chance against them. Have you no faith in the Rocket Shadow Project, Yamato? It's superior to any mechanical band or mind control. This is to the core. You'd probably have to kill them first to break what those scientists have done to improve their performance." (Here Yamato shrugged.) "Nothing will snap the shadow pokémon out of it, and enemies won't even know what hit them. Just like what we did to the cat and his puppy dog. So stop whining and start acting like a professional Team Rocket agent."

He spoke all this quite lightly and matter-of-factly. He even smile wryly at the end of his little speech and gave Yamato a quick knowing glance in between his driving.

Though it shortly afterwards turned into an annoyed pout, Yamato returned his wry smile.

"I'm professional," she muttered, "but I hate them. I wonder where that crazy, freak Musashi was, though."

It was shortly after this as they reached the fields in their jeep, now looking quite brand new and slick since its rusty coverings had been shed, that the pair of field agents heard across the open landscape the ominous but all too familiar cry of the keva echoing toward them like a banshee over the moor.

"_Kreeeeeeee-vah_!"

The jeep screeched to a halt, dust and greenery flying up around its wheels.

"Over there!" Yamato cried, leaping up in her seat and pointing in the direction from which the call carried.

It was the opposite direction from where the little house had been. Maybe the idiots were attempting to flee the area with Yamato and Kosaburo's prize. Kosaburo expected their stupid nyaasu-headed balloon to show up any second on the horizon. Without a word, he revved up the vehicle again and turned it toward the sound of the keva, which again cried out over the field.

Not long afterwards, they saw them.

Musashi and Kojiro stood on a low cliff with the bird leashed with a rope between them. That freaky, talking cat proved nowhere in sight. That could mean something suspicious, but Kosaburo was not all too concerned. After a little less than three pleasant years of not seeing or dealing with the idiots, he and his partner had greatly advanced in their skills regardless of the shadow pokémon, and he highly doubted Musashi and Kojiro were any different than they had been since the last time they had met.

"We'll beat them, Yamato," said Kosaburo as he parked the jeep at the bottom of the cliff. "And we'll get every last stupid pokémon on our list."

Yamato glanced strangely at her partner a moment, perhaps noting his uncharacteristic intensity. He had been slowly becoming more intense about their missions than he used to, but even Kosaburo himself knew he was getting more intense than ever with the mission they had now for the Shadow Project.

"Kosa—"

Throwing his head around dangerously toward her, Kosaburo showed her a set of clenched teeth.

"_buro_," Yamato quickly enunciated, and immediately Kosaburo's intensity vanished to reveal a smile of deep satisfaction.

"Yes?" he asked almost cheerily.

Yamato lifted her eyes idly to the sky. "Nothing," she grumbled. "Just forget it."

"Good! Now let's go make sure they never interfere _again_!"

#

Musashi hated leaving Bara with a pokémon babysitter, even if it was Nyaasu. Actually, especially since it was Nyaasu in some ways! But she hated not being in on the action too. Kojiro and Nyaasu would not have been able to fight these two by themselves. She was the only other one with pokémon that could battle against Kosaburo and Yamato.

As she saw the approaching jeep, she held up Arbok's pokéball and stood ready for action.

"Kreeeeeeee-vah!" cried the keva and pecked Kojiro on the head.

"Erk!" cried Kojiro.

Then the keva graced Musashi's head with a peck too.

"_Ita_!" she yelped.

"Should I return her yet?" Kojiro wanted to know.

"Just wait a sec," said Musashi holding up her hand higher, and she leered down at the pair advancing from the vehicle.

Yet before Yamato and Kosaburo decided to climb the low cliff up after them, they stopped not but a few yards away from the jeep. With arms crossed and stances haughty, they returned Musashi's glare, and for a moment silence reigned.

"Give us the bird!" called Yamato then. "And we'll forget about your interference. We'll report you to the Boss for interfering if you don't, after we destroy you in battle!"

Musashi laughed, and Kojiro gave her a weird expression with a high raising brow. Just barely did she see him out of the corner of her eye, a painful wince soon littering Kojiro's face, but for now she ignored him.

Of course, she knew that they thought she and Kojiro were still Team Rocket agents. Everyone in Team Rocket probably did, if they did not think they died or ended up in prison. She intended on keeping it that way too. Self preservation told her it would be the only way to keep their home safe, and even if it was not, it certainly was no business of those two to know about Kojiro's and Musashi's lives.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Yamato and Kosanji!" Musashi snickered. "Like we'd really give up the pokémon without a fight!"

"Kosaburo!" Kosaburo snarled.

"Whatever!" cried Musashi, and without further talk, she threw her pokéball and released Arbok.

"This isn't going to work," Kojiro whispered.

"Well, not if you don't help!" Musashi snapped back.

Slumping briefly, Kojiro released Weezing, but not before Yamato and Kosaburo released their skarmory and tangella, both of which appeared more eerie and dark as ever.

Arbok immediately felt something amiss, and it was as if a glare or intimidation had been placed upon him as he beheld the aura around these creatures. On the other hand Weezing, perhaps a little too dull witted to notice anything at first, managed to attack first with Kojiro instantly calling out for smog attack.

Weezing quickly obeyed, but as the smog covered the area of battle, both Kosaburo and Yamato commanded in perfect unison, "Shadow rush!"

"_Nani_!?" Musashi cried.

The smog mattered little in this attack which washed over all in Musashi and Kojiro's direction like a black and blue-violet wave. It helped the other side, rather, for as shadow rush struck both Arbok and Weezing (and they had always had very poor defense once hit), Kosaburo and Yamato took the shield of smog as an opportunity to snatch up both of the opposing pokémon and the keva after having tangella use a shadowy version of sleep powder on her while Musashi and Kojiro were recovering from the edge of the shadow rush that had struck them. The agents then loaded all three pokémon into the truck before the smog cleared away.

Both Musashi and Kojiro screamed as they saw the tarp draped over their pokémon in the back of the jeep, and immediately ran for the vehicle.

"Give us back our pokémon!" shrieked Kojiro.

"Arbok!" screamed Musashi.

But only laughter followed as a response as they drove away.

Kojiro dropped into the grass, but Musashi ran with all her might ran down after them. She did not get far before she tripped, but she would never have been able to catch up with those freaks now.

"_Yamato_!" she snarled, her hands and knees stinging from the fall on the ground.

No, no, no! Not again! This was not the first time those idiots had stolen her pokémon, but how would they get them back this time? Even if they had the kid on their side they had no idea where the pair would go. It was not fair! It just was not fair!

She thought for a moment of using Lickitongue, but she knew that nothing Lickitongue could do would help catch a jeep. It was hopeless.

"No," she murmured, rising calmly to her knees. It wasn't over yet.

She had only told herself this for comfort, but she soon found how not over this truly happened to be. It started with the fact that Nyaasu stood beside Kojiro at the foot of the hill. Immediately thinking of Bara alone in the house, she marched for Nyaasu, and her eyes blazed with fury. Besides, his plan turned out to be a complete dud!

"N-yow Musashi!" squeaked Nyaasu. "Before you start brawling, listen a sec or you might break the scanner, nya!"

"The _WHAT_?!" screamed Musashi. "I don't care about your stupid—!"

"He attached a homing device on their jeep!" Kojiro intervened.

Musashi stared blankly. "He what?"

**FRENCH PHRASE**:

_Est-ce que s'éclaire: Is it clear? __(IE "Have we made ourselves clear")_

_NOTE: I don't know Kosaburo and Yamato's motto in Japanese, so to be honest I made it up based on Musashi and Kojiro's motto. The French phrase at the end I got from the French motto, because in my quest for the Japanese motto I found that instead, and since I'm learning French I was highly amused by it._


	5. Just Like Old Times

JMJ

CHAPTER FOUR:

Just Like Old Times

In confusion Musashi blinked once or twice and then glared down at Nyaasu again vehemently.

"Why didn't you tell us about it before!?" she demanded.

"You guys would've given it away, nya," Nyaasu replied with a shrug, and looking down at the silvery gadget in his paws he smiled eagerly as the blinking light on its tiny screen.

Resentment struck the faces of both Musashi and Kojiro.

"Given it away, huh?" Musashi sniffed with a swish of her now shorter but not any less thick, just over shoulder-length hair. "I'll show _you_ what I can give away."

Holding up her fist she made to swack Nyaasu over the head, but the moment she began to strike down, Kojiro rushed in between the cat and the woman and held Musashi back by the shoulders.

"_Chotto matte_!" Kojiro cried. "Musashi, that's not going to help anything!"

A sigh of digression escaped her, and her fist dropped to her side.

"He left Bara-chan alone …" she hissed.

"_Shitteru_," said Kojiro. "Go back and take care of her."

"I trusted that stupid cat with my baby and that's what he does?!" Musashi screamed.

"She's in the playpen, nya," Nyaasu muttered. "And she's listening to music. It was only a few minutes. She'll be fine, nya."

"If Kojiro wasn't here to stop me, you'd be road kill," Musashi warned, crossing her arms.

"Nya," said Nyaasu waving a careless paw aside; though, it must be noted that the cat did take a few steps away from her and towards Kojiro before he continued with eyes glues to the screen of his gadget. "Kojiro's right. Go back with Bara-chan, and we'll follow the jeep. We'll get the pokémon back, nya."

"What? No!" snapped Musashi. "I'm coming too! They stole my pokémon too!"

Kojiro shook his head. "Someone's gotta stay with Bara-chan," he said.

"Then _you_ stay with Bara-chan," said Musashi. "I have to take care of that freak Yamato myself!"

"Not that cat fights aren't interesting, nya," said Nyaasu, "but—"

"Shut up! I wasn't talking to you!" snarled Musashi shaking her fist in Nyaasu's face.

The cat jumped.

"Musashi!" Kojiro squeaked.

Again, Kojiro touched her shoulder, but it was more to get her attention that to keep her from doing anything violent. The look on his face when Musashi turned to it, truly got her attention, and the gravity of it caused her to close her eyes and look away.

"We don't know how long it's going to take, and she'll need her mommy," Kojiro insisted. "Please, Musashi, stay."

He tried to smile encouragingly, manly, as a husband ought to. Uncertain as to whether he accomplished his goal, he decided to give her a hug instead.

"Kojiro," said Musashi with a slight roll of her eyes, but she returned the hug in spite of herself, "You can't stop them by yourself."

"Not in a fight, nya," said Nyaasu and grinned, "but with me there, he'll be okay, nya. We'll sny-eak up and take them. I'll take care of Kojiro, nya."

Musashi leered.

"You mean like how you took care of Bara-chan?" she demanded.

"Nya!" cried Nyaasu.

Ducking behind Kojiro in fright, he grabbed him around the legs and stuck his tongue out, but Musashi did not notice. Already she made back for the house in a huff.

"Musashi, _matte_!" Kojiro called.

Musashi spun around.

"What?"

Hesitating a little, Kojiro said, "We'll get them back, don't worry, okay?"

For a moment Musashi frowned, then the frown turned into a sorrowful look near tears, then she nodded and smiled before her face drew once again into a frown. With a finger thrust forward in the direction the jeep had gone, she straightened herself and said, "Go on, get after them before they—Oh!" and Here she ran back to Kojiro's side.

Lifting up his hand, she plopped a pokéball into it and grinned.

"Take Lickitongue. Just in case."

"No, you take keep him," said Kojiro pushing the ball back. "You might need him here."

Although taking the ball back reluctantly, Musashi after a moment's pause, grabbed Kojiro in order to kiss him, but just before their lips touched Nyaasu groaned loudly.

"Come on, you love birds, the longer you stand around being gushy, the further Yamato and Kosanji get up ahead, nya!" Nyaasu cried.

Kojiro and Musashi exchanged glanced, but released their hold on each other.

"Here, take the cell phone in case things get messy," said Musashi, handing the phone to him. "Don't take too long."

Kojiro smiled, this time he did manage a successfully supportive smile, but only because this time he was not trying.

"We won't," he said with a knowing wag of his finger.

With that last word of parting, Kojiro dashed after Nyaasu already scurrying across the fields with mechanism held out in front of him, and Musashi after waving after them sighed with a mutter about being left behind, but Bara-chan had been alone long enough as it was already.

#

"Where did you get that thing anyway?" Kojiro wanted to know.

They had been walking for some time at a brisk pace, and Kojiro was beginning to realize that they should have brought something to eat or at least to drink. Parched and hungry, Kojiro tried his best to ignore his bodily complaints, but though he should have been used to such complaints for all the time he had spent as a field agent, the response his body gave proved more along the lines of, "Oh, no you don't! I'm not going through that agony again. You find food and water for me or else!" His body could be more insistent than Nyaasu.

But there was no food available, and Nyaasu did not seem to notice anything amiss at the moment, strangely enough. Thus Kojiro tried his best to keep his mind off his stomach and throat the best her could with any conversation.

"I made it, nya," Nyaasu replied, still staring down at the screen.

"How?" Kojiro demanded.

"Well, it was broken, but I fixed it up like ny-ew, nya," Nyaasu explained rather absently.

"Then you didn't really make it," Kojiro pointed out, "but where would you get such a thing as a tracking device?"

"You do your in stuff in town, and I do mine, nya," said Nyaasu, and he shrugged. "But don't worry, I didn't steal it, if that's what you're thinking. Haggling get's what you want almost as easily as stealing, and it's still legal, nya."

"I guess," Kojiro replied, stomach growling audibly.

Sweat drop cued on the side of Kojiro's lavender head as Nyaasu threw his partner a squinty glance. Kojiro just grinned in return and wrapped his arm around his stomach as if to stifle any further sound from it, but another growl rumbled through louder than the first.

With a shake of his head, Nyaasu started up his walk again.

Kojiro let out a heavy sigh and slumped forward wearily.

"Nya!" Nyaasu exclaimed cheerfully after a few moments of silence. "We should be there soon."

The trees were becoming thick here, and a soft wood formed around the pair. They had climbed up a steep hill and crossed another field and few more hills before this spot. Was it possible Yamato and Kosaburo's hideout was so close?

"To our pokémon?" Kojiro asked.

"Ny-o!" Nyaasu laughed. "To the next town."

"What?" Kojiro demanded.

"Well, they made a stop in Cerulean City, but the way I figure it," said Nyaasu with a pondering paw to his chin, "we can stop at the train station here, and we'll ride up to Pewter City, cuz they're headed in that direction. They started up again about half an hour ago. Maybe they stopped for a late lunch or something."

"Do Kosaburo and Yamato stop for lunch?" Kojiro wondered out loud.

It seemed a strange concept, but he supposed they did. Everyone had to eat, but somehow his mind found a block imaging the pair performing such normal tasks as eating or sleeping. Really he had not thought of them much at all, except back when he was a field agent enough to complain about their always copying their motto, not to mention Yamato and Kosaburo's ratticate balloon clearly taken from the nyaasu balloon. Even still he found himself somewhat annoyed or at least in disgust that they would want to copy him and Musashi, but he felt nothing bitter about them now, regardless of their copying ways, in how much more respected they were as agents.

Kojiro was glad he and Musashi had not been respected; it had made it easier for them to escape. With this in mind, even though they had gotten away with their pokémon, he felt a strange sort of pity just then for Kosaburo and Yamato, a pity that almost frightened him.

"I don't kny-ow, nya," Nyaasu said, waking Kojiro back.

He had almost forgotten the question he had asked Nyaasu, but as he blinked back down to the cat, it returned to him.

"Oh," he said rather awkwardly.

"Nya?" asked Nyaasu, but quickly shook his head.

Wait a minute? Up north? How far away were Yamato and Kosaburo taking the pokémon. If they were going to some massive base, maybe it was not such a good idea to go without help of some kind.

"Nyaasu, maybe we should call the police," he said.

"The police, nya?" Nyaasu demanded. "What are they gun-ya do besides get us arrested? Do they ever stop Team Rocket, nya?"

"Well …"

"Ny-o, it's always those kids," Nyaasu told him. "They just show up later and arrest people, and if we show up to the police with our record? Nya … I sure wouldn't want Musashi to find out that we wound up behind bars for life, nya."

Kojiro gulped. "Or Bara-chan with a criminal for a father."

"Exactly, nya!" Nyaasu said. "X-criminal is as bad as you want, nya."

A loud groan escaped Kojiro now, "But what if we just wind caught by Team Rocket?"

Nyaasu did not seem to have an answer for that one, but he shrugged it off as town came into view.

Quietly Kojiro paid for the train ride and a good meal to eat on the way, but he had another feeling growing in the pit of his stomach when Nyaasu told him that the agents had stopped in the mountains. A fear gnawed at him that he may never see Musashi or Bara-chan again. So why did he keep going? The fear of losing his pokémon to the evil designs of Team Rocket made him sick, but there had to be another way to save them! He just had not thought of it yet!

#

_Blip, blip, blip, blip_, the little dot on the scanner went faster and faster as they approached their destination.

Kojiro feared more and more what that might mean, and Nyaasu could see him out of the corner of his eyes. Fidgeting, looking over his shoulder, knitting his brows so that they might have a good sweater completed by the time of their next stop, Kojiro would be a wreck before they reached the Team Rocket hideout! Maybe he should have stayed with Bara-chan and taken Musashi with him instead, but then Nyaasu would have had to deal with the possibility of a vengeful madwoman.

With a shake of his head, Nyaasu came to a stop on the side of the rocky, scraggly tree-sheltered slope, and Kojiro followed his example.

"What?" Kojiro asked.

"We're really close ny-ow, nya," said Nyaasu.

"Yeah," said Kojiro. "And?"

"Are you sure you can handle this, nya?" Nyaasu wanted to know.

"Of …" Kojiro started and frowned deeply with a determined stomp of his foot. "Of course, I can handle this! _Hai_! It's not that Nyaasu, and you know it."

Nyaasu shrugged and continued his hike.

"I'm only worried about Bara-chan and Musashi," said Kojiro.

"The downside of family life, nya," Nyaasu said with an honest sigh, honest in the fact that he sincerely felt sympathetic for his friend, even if he did not exactly show it.

After all, Nyaasu wished he could have a kitty family of his own and long before Kojiro even contemplated such a future for himself.

Nyaasu knew what commitment and family meant. It meant everything that had not happened to himself, and his two human teammates. Not being abandoned as a kitten like Nyaasu, not crushed with the unbearable weight of family honor and propriety without the affection needed to balance it out at age six like what happened to Kojiro, and not leaving a child behind for adventure and danger with the high possibility of getting killed and being unable to nurture the child yourself so that she is left orphaned and growing up in the hands of teachers and counselors with thirty-five other children not one's siblings as in Musashi's case.

"If something happens to me—" Kojiro went on.

"Ny-othing's going to happen to you, nya," said Nyaasu. "I gave Musashi my word."

"I don't think it's really your job to look after me," Kojiro grumbled.

Nyaasu ignored him and did not say another word until they reached the top of the slope and looked down.

Rugged mountains, clear waters, and wide open sky for as far as the eye could see. A flock of spearow flew by in the distance, luckily for Kojiro and Nyaasu, for they would not have wanted the risk of those irritable birds dive bombing them for trespassing on their territory or something like that. Otherwise there seemed no sign of any creature for the moment. Trees grew up now and then closer to where they stood. Patches of woodland rolled here and there, but the jagged, harsh rock formations and high mountains soon blocked the advancing trees. This was the northern edge of the Kanto Region, and the mountains, mostly inaccessible for man, guarded the unknown land beyond. Nyaasu knew that north of Johto lay the mysterious Northern Region, but whether that same region extended above Kanto as well, Nyaasu did not know.

"Well," said Kojiro, crossing his arms as he beheld the same scene from behind the cat. "This looks like a good spot for a secret hideout, doesn't it? Where are they now, Nyaasu?"

Returning attention to the scanner importantly, Nyaasu examined the blipping dot a moment, and then said, with a paw thrust in the direction he meant to go, "That way, nya!"

Through a mess of thick trees and shrubbery, the pair climbed out on the other side to see an old garage or something of that sort, half hidden in vines and overgrown ornamental trees. It looked as if this place had once belonged to a wealthy land owner. On further speculation, Nyaasu could just barely make out the awning of a roof further back among the trees. The scanner's detection however, led them to the garage.

Thus immediately, Nyaasu leapt down the stony ridge towards it, Kojiro stumbling after him and causing rocks to fall that nearly hit Nyaasu from behind. They crept up to the first garage door, and peered cautiously through one of the tiny window slits on one side of the garage. Tarped vehicles were parked in a long musty row, but otherwise the place was empty.

"Nyaasu," said Kojiro after a few minutes' pause. "How long ago was it that the jeep actually stopped?"

"Well, hours ago, why, nya?" Nyaasu said.

The cat stood upon Kojiro's shoulders, for he would not have been able to see inside otherwise, and he now leaned idly over Kojiro's head as he spoke.

"This is just some garage. They're hideout could be anywhere."

Kojiro's voice sounded so mournful it was almost laughable, except that Nyaasu forgave him considering the circumstances of his new found responsibility as a family man. Still Nyaasu could not help the roll of his eyes and the groaning meow.

"What about the house, nya?" Nyaasu suggested.

Kojiro followed the direction of the paw in front of his face, and could see just a hint of the structure Nyaasu had seen not long before. A smile appeared on his face, slightly sheepish, but welcomed nonetheless by Nyaasu.

"Oh, that makes sense," Kojiro said.

"So onya-ward, Kojiro, nya!"

"I still don't like this, though," Kojiro admitted.

"Think of it this way," said Nyaasu with a shrug. "It'll be like old times except this time we're not the bad guys, we're on with the brat boy and his pals. We can't lose! Like the brat boy said himself! The good always triumphs."

"When did he say that?" Kojiro demanded.

"When you weren't paying attention apparently," Nyaasu retorted.

"It's not like I really cared what he was saying," Kojiro said, and he started off towards the house.

At first Kojiro's pace was surprisingly bold, but Nyaasu noticed the instant it began to falter, and the fact that both he and Nyaasu could see a pair of Team Rocket goons slip towards the house made Kojiro even more nervous. All it made Nyaasu think was that they had not been Kosaburo and Yamato. Nyaasu felt sure they were simple grunts, actually, and as the cat and human approached, crouched down in the bushes, Nyaasu saw that they were particularly young grunts.

Most grunts were never much older than thirty, but these boys had to be somewhere around sixteen years old, and an idea already began growing among the spinning gears of Nyaasu's mind.

Kojiro was not unaware of those gears either, and he turned with an uneasy bite on his lip. This only caused Nyaasu to grin.

Without looking back, Nyaasu said, "Release Victreebell, nya."

"What?" Kojiro hissed, and he paused glaring at Nyaasu a moment. "Are you crazy?"

"Just do it, nya."

"But what about the element of surprise?" Kojiro wanted to know.

"Do you wan-nya get your pokémon back or what, nya?" Nyaasu whispered. "Then trust me. I got a plan, alright?"

Kojiro sighed in defeat. "Nyaasu, have you ever noticed that your plans …"

"What? Hurry before they're gone, nya," Nyaasu growled.

"Okay, okay," Kojiro growled in return. "But you _better_ know what you're doing."

"I always do, nya."

Kojiro's eyes narrowed. "Not always."

Nyaasu winced.

Standing upright, Kojiro lifted his pokéball and closing his eyes a moment, he threw it against the ground as both he and Nyaasu prepared themselves for Victreebell's deafening scream.


	6. Every Last One

JMJ

CHAPTER FIVE:

Every Last One

Before the adventures of Kojiro, Nyaasu, and the grunts, Yamato and Kosaburo did not waste time as they parked their vehicle in the garage when they arrived, nor did anyone else. As they leaped out of the jeep to grab their cargo, a grunt had already been sent out to help them with a few rolling cages in which to put the new prizes. When they lifted the tarp however, an instant silence fell upon the field agents, who jolted frozen in wide-eyed horror.

The grunt looked up at the agents with concerned curiosity. After a moment of hesitating he, with fingers fidgeting on the bars of a rolling cage, gently asked, "I thought you were after something a bit more uncommon than arbok and weezing."

The first to recover, Yamato threw the grunt a deadly leer.

Grinning nervously and taking a careful step away from the agents, the grunt said with a shrug, "I mean we already have plenty of arbok and weezing. Kanto poisons are pretty much covered. It's Rocket specialty."

"We know what Rocket specialties are," said Yamato.

Kosaburo, choosing to ignore the grunt entirely, closed his eyes, clenched his teeth and fists tightly at this sudden unfortunate occurrence, and then said tersely, "The keva either escaped or was stolen."

The grunt cringed, obviously happy it was not he who had the responsibility over the situation.

_Twit_, Kosaburo thought.

"You don't think—" Yamato started, pretty painted eyes wide with worry.

"No," Kosaburo returned. "Why would they take the keva and not take their own pokémon?"

"Then she just escaped!" cried Yamato, her face now contorting to something not pretty at all but still rather frantic.

Kosaburo just slapped his forehead.

And of course just to make things better, Dr. Namba chose this as an opportunity to check on their progress.

Without slightest hesitation, Kosaburo snatched up the video phone from his belt and glared into the tiny form of the bushy-browed, red-faced doctor as the caller opened conversation with his query.

"We just arrived at base," Kosaburo said.

"We caught three new pokémon for the project!" exclaimed Yamato quickly. "One of them is a growlithe. Very valuable, especially as we can have it evolved quite easily to an arcanine here."

_Oh, we might as well get on with the point_, Kosaburo thought with a roll of his eyes.

"We've caught most of what's on our list," he said. "Only the keva's left."

"I thought you said you were hot on the trail for it; why did you return to Shadow Base?" Dr. Namba demanded, temper flexing in his temples.

Grouchy, old coot.

"It … escaped," Kosaburo explained.

Yamato nodded. "We were in a hurry, and—"

"I don't want excuses!" snapped Dr. Namba. "I want results! Get more supplies, have your other pokémon put through the system, and tonight you go out again! And I don't want to hear back from you till the list is complete!"

"_Hai_!" said Kosaburo and Yamato.

"COMPLETE!" snarled Dr. Namba as if extra emphasis was needed. The spittle was a nice touch it had to be admitted. The screen then went out.

Yamato raised a brow to her partner holding the phone a moment in silence.

"You heard him," she muttered, lifting up the growlithe's pokéball. "Let's get a move on with these three at least."

#

Kojiro used to have confidence in disguises. He used to feel a new set of clothing changing his façade completely and the chance of someone recognizing him near impossible, especially with his acting and voice skills. He, as many agents had, learned most of what he knew about disguises from the master of disguise himself, Lambda one of the two best agents (aside from maybe Domino) in all of Team Rocket. Hey, the boy and his friends had hardly ever recognized him or his partners in their worst disguises! After thinking it over however, a realization came to him that he had always been more nervous with plots that had to do with the police. Not that he had ever had a problem pretending to be a police officer, but fooling a police officer proved an entirely different matter altogether.

This may not have been a police station, but with Kojiro's future goals in mind, however often he had disguised himself as a grunt previous to this, trouncing through a Team Rocket base was worse than trying to fool a squad of police officers. At least the police would not be tempted to kill him. The Nation prohibited all forms of the death penalty, and punishment was lenient on those who proved remorse for their deeds. Community service was more common than being thrown behind bars, but Team Rocket ran by laws of their own, and what Kojiro was about to do would have him in a heap of trouble far worse than community service if the team found out his true motives.

Chances were not taken lightly on Nyaasu's part either. After Victreebell (once finally off of Kojiro's head) used sleep powder on the grunts, Nyaasu had dyed Kojiro's light lavender hair black, and once the former agent was fully in uniform courtesy of the sleeping grunts, he surely would not be quickly recognized by people who only half knew Kojiro, especially in the darkness of the corridor and the grunt hat shielding his eyes. His hair was a tad longer than it used to be too, which helped, and Kojiro even had it tied back so as to look even less like himself.

As with previous missions in which Nyaasu was not to be seen, Nyaasu hid inside Kojiro's shirt. Never once had anyone questioned the large round lump in Kojiro's gut, however unnatural it looked on his very slim body, but now Kojiro felt more conscious of it than he ever had before. Or maybe it was just the red "R" glaring back at him in the dim light of the corridor, the "R" Kojiro had hoped never to bare over his chest again.

Kojiro sighed.

_It won't take long_, he told himself. _We just find out where they're storing the pokémon, find Arbok, Weezing, and Gar-Chan and slip out._

No one would notice. Pokémon trainers did this kind of stuff all the time and usually got away with it, especially when all who were around were grunts. Grunts were like the droid army in Star Wars. Annoying but easily passed when one is armed, for their skills in battle proved limited. Musashi and Kojiro could beat them without much effort.

Except unlike droids they were humans … Lost in Team Rocket like everyone else here. Maybe more than the field agents. It made Kojiro shiver a little.

They reached a computer in a side pocket in the corridor. Nyaasu immediately slipped out of Kojiro's shirt and took over with the buttons.

Kojiro meanwhile looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was coming.

_So far so good!_

"They're keeping the pokémon in room S-13b, nya," Nyaasu said.

Kojiro nodded quickly and was just taking his leave when he paused to ask, "Where is that?"

As Nyaasu climbed back into the uniform, he replied lightly, "I'll make sure you go the right way, nya."

Thus, Kojiro set forth again, and he had not gone far before he received a sharp jab in the right of his ribcage by a cold, unrelenting paw right through his inner shirt.

"_Ita_!" cried Kojiro.

"Go right, nya," whispered the lump under his shirt.

"You don't have to do _that_ about it!" Kojiro hissed.

"Nya …" Nyaasu grumbled.

"Yeah, well, keep nya-ing, Nyaasu," Kojiro replied. "I'm tired of—"

"Shut up, nya! I think someone's coming."

With a stiffened posture and a gulp, Kojiro glanced over his shoulder again. He saw just another grunt.

His pace did not slow down in the least, but he did eye Kojiro strangely as a passed him by, Kojiro seemingly clutching his unnatural, lumpy belly and cringing. Perhaps he thought, Kojiro ill. It was difficult to say, but he did not spend time loitering to find out.

"Ny-ow c'mon, Kojiro, nya," whispered Nyaasu. "The same direction he's going."

"_Sou da_," said Kojiro, taking action forward.

Strangely enough, the grunt happened to have the same destination as Nyaasu and Kojiro. Kojiro felt uneasy about this at first, but in the end it proved the best as he did not know any codes for the punch pad, which one needed to use after swiping cards.

The grunt noticed the coincidence as well but still spoke not a word. It was none of his business, it seemed, what another grunt was doing. Kojiro gave him a jittery smile, but said nothing too.

On either side of the long, narrow room stood specialized shelves a little like egg incubators without the warm glow of lights above them. Instead a sickly green light lit up from below the neatly arrayed specialized shelves where the pokéballs rested, categorized by type and labeled with species and number.

The grunt knew exactly where to find what he needed. Taking up a pair of pokéballs from the grass type area, he then slipped by Kojiro and exited the room.

Kojiro breathed a sigh of relief when the door shut behind him. Just after that sigh, Nyaasu leapt out onto the floor to have a look around. In order to satisfy curiosity, Kojiro walked carefully to where the grunt had taken his pokéballs from and saw that he had taken a pair of roselia.

Was this just a pokémon stock room of some kind, or did these pokémon have another purpose?

A frown creased Kojiro's face, but his thoughts were prematurely interrupted when he heard Nyaasu let out a small cry behind him.

"What!?" gasped Kojiro. "Did you find Gar-Chan or the others?"

"Nyaasu …" Nyaasu whispered.

With eyes squinting slightly, Kojiro followed Nyaasu's paw to the label which read, "52 (Nyaasu)".

"So?" asked Kojiro. "They seem to have almost every pokémon."

"Get them all, nya," agreed Nyaasu.

"I wonder what they're up to?" said Kojiro, holding out a finger as he read down the line of the fire section labels.

"Beats me," Nyaasu said, "but if stupid, old Yamato and Kosanji are in on it, it's probably something juicy, nya."

There were two pokéballs in the growlithe spot. One Kojiro picked up and the other. He looked at both a few times over and then decided that the only way to find out which ball held Gar-Chan would be to release them both. He did so promptly.

"Grow?" asked the first growlithe, but the second instantly leapt for Kojiro and licked his face.

Nyaasu had to take the liberty of returning the first growlithe, and he could not help the sigh as he watched the reunion of master and dog.

"Oh, Gar-Chan!" Kojiro laughed, quite forgetting to be careful. "I'm so happy you're okay!"

Gar-Chan continued to lick his master and make happy whimpering sounds.

"I'm never, never, _never_ going to let you get involved in this ever, _ever_ again!" exclaimed Kojiro ruffling the dog's ears and pressing his cheek onto Gar-Chan's fluffy head. "You're such a good boy, Gar-Chan! Such a good, good dog!"

A happy bark escaped Gar-Chan.

"And ny-oisy too, nya," Nyaasu grumbled. "Keep quiet, Gar-Chan, or the whole base will hear you, nya? We're ny-ot safe yet, you kny-ow."

"_Garoo_?" said Gar-Chan cocking his head.

Kojiro glanced at the other growlithe's pokéball. That was probably someone's dog too. Would it be safe to take it and bring it to a Pokémon Center so that Nurse Joy could find his owner? They had not exactly come prepared to take back all the pokémon, and he did not know for certain that this pokémon had really been stolen per se. He could have been bought or bred for Team Rocket. Not all their pokémon, especially in pokémon arsenals like this, were stolen.

"He's right, Gar-Chan," said Kojiro quietly as he turned back to his faithful canine. "We have to be careful."

Reaching down he picked up the grunt hat which had fallen on the floor when Gar-Chan first emerged. He then hunted down the rows for Weezing and Arbok.

"Sniff out which ones are ours," said Kojiro to Gar-Chan.

There were many pokéballs in these slots. The Weezing slot could not fit more than two more pokéballs, in fact.

Gar-Chan did as ordered and nudged Musashi's Arbok and Kojiro's Weezing quite easily.

"Gra!" said Gar-Chan.

A loving scratch behind the ear quickly rewarded the dog, and Kojiro, with a broad smile, said, "Good boy!" before taking the pokéballs into his pockets.

"Look at this, nya," Nyaasu said.

"What?" Kojiro asked, coming to Nyaasu's side.

At the end of the two rows on the wall opposite the door, stood a large computer and a pokéball transporter. Nothing too unusual, but what Nyaasu had to show Kojiro proved very interesting if not a little unnerving. The computer listed each pokémon stored in this room, not too unusual, but it also listened some with a shaded dim purple.

"What does that mean?" Kojiro asked.

"I'm guessing something like that thing with that red gariados and that thing with the baby lugia, nya," said Nyaasu.

"Yeah, I guessed that before this," said Kojiro remembering the skarmory and the tangela in Yamato and Kosaburo's possession, "but this looks like it's on a much bigger scale. It's like they're preparing for war or something."

"Maybe they are, nya," said Nyaasu. "Don't you ever keep up with the ny-ews, nya?"

"No," retorted Kojiro.

"Well, you should," said Nyaasu haughtily. "Then you'd kny-ow that Team Rocket and Team Polsar are getting pretty riled up, nya. Team Rocket's been trying to expand ny-orthwards since their plans to expand past Johto and Unya-va weren't working too well."

"A Team war?" moaned Kojiro.

"Yeah, glad we're ny-ot involved with that, nya," said Nyaasu.

"Me too," said Kojiro with a quick nod, and he paused suddenly feeling very much as though they were being watched.

Whether they were or not, however, Kojiro also decided that they had been there for far long enough. Really, he could not stand to be in this room a moment longer.

"Let's go," he whispered, leaning down to Nyaasu's ear.

"N-yeah … "said Nyaasu, his eyes still on the screen. "I think you're right, nya."

Only then did he pry his face from the screen.

"But one thing first," he said, pushing past Kojiro's legs.

Kojiro followed with his eyes the cat as he crossed back towards the front of the room.

"What's that?" Kojiro asked and glanced down at Gar-Chan as if he may have the answer to the riddle of the secretive cat.

"Garoo?" Gar-Chan knew less than he did.

"We have to take the nyaasu with us!" Nyaasu cried, showing the pokéball from the nyaasu slot.

"But Nyaasu, it's not ours to take!" Kojiro protested.

"Well, it's ny-ot there's either, nya," Nyaasu shot back.

"But—! I know but—we can't take them all!" Kojiro pointed out.

Nyaasu was not listening. He placed the pokéball into Kojiro's pocket and marched for the door.

With a heavy sigh, Kojiro followed, but as he returned Gar-Chan into his pokéball for safety precautions until they escaped this place, Kojiro's eyes fell upon the growlithe slot. He bit his lip a moment and could not help but wish he could take this one too. To save the poor creature from his Team Rocket fate.

"Kojiro, nya!" Nyaasu hissed.

He snatched it and pocketed it with the others.

"Ny-ow we just have to get out of here and—_Nyah_!"

"Who are you?"

Kojiro spun around with a squeak of surprise to see the man in the doorway of obvious higher status than a grunt.

Straightening, and clearing his throat, Kojiro said as he nervously brushed himself off, though he had nothing to brush, "I, uh — I was stopping this nyaasu from escaping!"

The agent glanced down at Nyaasu, now meowing innocently, and the man returned his look to Kojiro with a deep frown.

"But who are you?" he wanted to know.

"I'm …"

"Yǎgè," Nyaasu coughed.

"Yǎgè!" Kojiro repeated quickly and then squinted down at Nyaasu.

"Yǎgè?" asked the man. "You don't look Chinese."

"Uh … well, I'm not," said Kojiro.

"I see," said the man, and he shrugged.

Though, he tried not to show his relief visibly, Kojiro could not contain the sigh.

"Well, if the nyaasu is really giving you that much trouble, we were going to have another normal brought down to the lab. The last nyaasu met with an unfortunate accident."

"He died?!" Kojiro gasped.

Nyaasu growled.

"Not exactly, but it's certainly no good in battle anymore," said the man.

"_Jaa_," Kojiro laughed nervously as he plucked Nyaasu up off the floor. "I guess I'll just go take him to the lab then."

"Alright, you're obviously new, I'll show you the way," said the man.

Was he falling for this or not?

Kojiro gulped, but he had no choice other than following the man now.

"This way, Yǎgè," said the man.

With hasty nod, Kojiro did as bidden.

* * *

**JAPANESE PHRASES**

_Hai: _Yes

_Ita: _ouch

_Sou da: _right

_Jaa: _well then


	7. Yǎgè in the Lab

JMJ

CHAPTER SIX:

Yǎgè in the Lab

Bright lights met Kojiro first. It seemed the lab needed to be well lit in comparison with the atmospheric corridors. The entire trip here, Kojiro's mind raced for a way to escape, but by the time he stepped through the doorway behind the grunt superior, he decided that it was Nyaasu who thought up the plans and that he had better find a way out of this mess, because Kojiro had gone completely blank.

"Here's our last normal for the day," said the grunt superior.

"Nyaasu …" whispered Kojiro.

"Nya?" was all the nyaasu in his arms replied.

Perhaps he just as mentally frozen as Kojiro was or perhaps the cat had a plan. Kojiro could tell less than when he lived his agent days with Nyaasu recently.

"That's right, a nyaasu," the grunt superior said with a nod.

A pair of scientists received them politely enough and told Kojiro (or Yǎgè) to bring the nyaasu forward. The scientists prepared the counter for him to be placed upon as on any veterinary table, but Kojiro did not have to be an X-agent to know that nothing pleasant was meant for poor Nyaasu.

The cat began to struggle in his arms.

At first, instinctively, Kojiro held his back. At the almost inaudible command of "drop me", Kojiro then let Nyaasu drop to the floor.

"Get him!" said a scientist.

"He's getting away!" Kojiro shrieked, though of course not in any way did he attempt to aid the Team Rocket staff in their pursuit of the escaped pokémon.

"_Nyah_!"

Nyaasu, unfortunately, had nowhere to go. There were no windows. All the doors were shut, and though he tried for the vent, a doctor snatched him right before he could get far with that. Naturally, he could get away easily enough, slashing the unsuspecting victim across the face, but that was when the other doctor released a pokémon from his belt, a pokémon obviously intended for such emergencies as this.

A mightyena emerged onto the lab floor, and with a snarling howl, the great wolf-like beast lunged for Nyaasu.

A scream pierced the room, and Nyaasu made a lunge himself right for the top of Kojiro's head.

"_ITA_!" cried Kojiro, leaping backwards and almost falling onto his back. "Claws, claws, claws, CLAWS!"

A doctor then snatched up Nyaasu from Kojiro's throbbing head and slipped Nyaasu a shot in the arm quicker the Nyaasu had time to combat the needle, especially in his fright. It did not take long before Nyaasu slowed down. His eyes and ears began to droop, and his body relaxed reluctantly.

"What did you do to him?" gasped Kojiro

"It's just a sedative," said the doctor who owned the mighteyana and who now returned the pokémon to his ball.

The grunt superior nodded. "Be useful, Yǎgè, and assist them in any way they feel necessary. I'm going to get my papers and be on my way."

"_H—Hai_," said Kojiro miserably, his eyes not once leaving Nyaasu as the scientists came with other needles and more strange tools.

This had been a bad idea. A bad idea! Why had he listened to Nyaasu?

Now Nyaasu would suffer for it and Kojiro next, no doubt.

Attaching Nyaasu to a machine, one doctor then began pressing buttons on a computer screen attached. The other began placing a few more wires around Nyaasu's helpless body.

"Hold his head for me," said a doctor to the grunt that was Kojiro.

Kojiro shivered as he took a step towards the counter.

"Kojiro … nya … I don't like this, nya …" Nyaasu moaned in a half conscious sort of way.

The doctors stopped instantly.

Everyone in Team Rocket knew what a talking nyaasu meant, and his human masters could not be far behind if this was the case.

Kojiro did not notice them. He only saw Nyaasu, and the moment Nyaasu sobbed out his words, he could take it no more. Before the doctors had a chance to act upon their new knowledge of about the cat, Yǎgè, in a surge of passion, threw his grunt cap onto the floor and leapt forward the final distance to the counter.

"_Yamero_!" he screamed. "Stop! He's my Nyaasu! Stop!"

The doctors stared in silence a moment or two in time for Nyaasu to murmur in his groggy state, "I don't b'long to ny-o one, nya …"

"_Your_ Nyaasu?" demanded a scientist.

Kojiro was not listening but set to work instantly taking all the wires off of Nyaasu body and snatching him off of the counter.

"I don't want him …" he paused the think of the words, "shadow … ized," said Kojiro with a gulp, "and _he_ doesn't either!"

"Kojiro!?"

Stiffening, Kojiro spun around to the grunt superior who knew his name.

Now it cannot be said that that the man knew his name was something altogether a shock. Almost everyone working for Team Rocket knew the names of Musashi and Kojiro. They had made a name for themselves as the most infamous agents in Rocket history and not good infamy either, infamy in the sense that never before had a pair of field agents been as successfully unsuccessful as they turned out to be. Most agents who found themselves labeled as "lame agents" were tossed out, allowed to be arrested, or simply killed. In the case of Musashi and Kojiro, because they kept insanely persisting on being top agents and never dreamt of being fired in their denial, Giovanni for some reason merely allowed them to remain agents. Although perhaps not the lamest in skill, they were perhaps the lamest in their denial and blind loyalty to a team that hated them, and after all their travels all around the Nation and a little beyond, trying all in the power to please the Boss with anything they could, they had been labeled as something different, something that Kojiro himself was not actually aware of. They had been labeled the Boss's comedy relief; though, it was not something Kojiro would have been surprised to hear by this point in his life after almost three years of having no contact with Team Rocket.

The grunt superior, although, having little to do with field agents and, in fact, would be considered lower than field agents as far as status goes, said quickly after his explanation, "The Boss has been trying to locate you."

Kojiro's eyes popped in his head like an electrode's when a battle goes ill and fainting is imminent. Clutching Nyaasu tightly in his arms, he felt his jaw drop, and he did not even hear Nyaasu's sleepy complaints about being squeezed too tight.

"_Me_?!" Kojiro finally gasped.

#

Musashi had expected to awaken to the sound of Kojiro's cheerful voice greeting her. She had expected a great happy hug and kiss and Arbok's pokéball placed warmly into her hand, but when she opened her eyes she only saw the pale morning sun filtering in through the window and the room as empty as when she had fallen asleep, except for Bara-chan. Bara-chan slept soundly in the cradle beside her and Kojiro's low futon of a bed.

With a deep frown, Musashi's only thought was, _I shouldn't have let Kojiro go without me._

She threw back her covers angrily and ran for the phone. She dialed the number to the cell phone she had given Kojiro, but just as she had anticipated, no answer.

Kojiro was in trouble!

She should not have let Nyaasu run things. Without her there, Nyaasu probably got Kojiro to do something stupid; she just knew it. She could think of only one thing to do, she realized as she rummaged through her drawer for proper traveling clothes. She had her pair of hiking cargo pants, a form-fitting T-shirt and a safari-styled pink jacket.

To go get Kojiro and Nyaasu back herself, Musashi would have to do it herself!

Reaching to the bottom of her draw, she took out her old uniform. Kojiro had gotten rid of his long ago, but she had never found the courage to throw out her own. At first it was only because she thought she may want to return to Team Rocket, but after the wedding Musashi knew that it was a precaution. In case she may need it to protect her new family, her new way of life with Kojiro.

Her eyes fell upon the gentle sleeping form of her little one.

Someone would have to look after the child until she returned with Kojiro and that miserable cat. At first she thought of leaving Bara-chan with Kojiro's parents, but she thought that a far better place for her than the estate would be the same place where Kojiro still left his chimecho to live.

Slowly Musashi approached the cradle.

"Bara-chan …" she sighed, and kneeling onto the floor she kissed her daughter's head.

The baby's large, round eyes opened with surprise.

"Everything will be alright, baby, you'll see," said Musashi scooping her up in her arms.

* * *

**JAPANESE PHRASE**

_Yamero: Stop_


	8. Secret Status

JMJ

CHAPTER SEVEN:

Secret Status

"I want to speak with Lambda," said the field agent, Gakuto Totana, over the phone.

Gakuto had a history of complaining. Nothing ever proved right for him. If he had not proved himself a decent agent, especially in the work he had done with the shadow project recently in catching Unova pokémon with his meek female partner, he would have been considered for demotion or promotion in being sent to the front lines of open war at the edge of the Northern Region.

Basically, Gingie knew that the only reason Gakuto wanted to talk with Lambda was to give him an earful. She did not think of Lambda much herself, to be honest, and probably would have given the phone over to him the instant his name came into the conversation, but she had two very good reasons why she did not.

One, she took her job seriously, and did not give just anyone personal information or location status, especially on someone like Lambda and two (more importantly), she honestly had no idea where Lambda was at the moment if he could not be reached at his post. Wherever he had gone he had not taken his ID with him. That was one of the things Gingie disliked about Lambda. Just because he was considered the highest ranking of the agents alongside Lance, the self-proclaimed "scariest guy in Team Rocket" (oh, he was scary alright), he seemed to feel he had the right to all Team Rocket business when and where he pleased while at the same time hiding his own information in the way he knew best. Since Lambda was the master of disguise and he did not have to self proclaim this title, he could get away with it — not that Giovanni interfered.

The Boss seemed to like allowing people playing their little games as long as they got their work done.

"You have access to the Team Rocket files," said Gingie with a sniff. "He's stationed in Rustboro City in the Hoenn Region as a guest professor from the Kanto Region."

"I _know_ where he's stationed," grumbled Gakuto.

"Then why bother Headquarters about it?" said Gingie, and she rolled her eyes to the ceiling, thoroughly bored of the conversation.

Luckily for her they were not on vid phone otherwise this would be even more unpleasant. She had no desire to see his red, angry face. Also had it been a vid phone call, Gingie might not have noticed the swoop of raspberry red hair pass her cubicle. Straightening in her chair, Gingie squinted suspiciously behind her.

"Because he's not there, and I assumed he had a special assignment that was not listed in the records," returned Gakuto.

Gingie no longer paid him much attention, even though she held the phone to her ear properly. Carefully, she pushed back her office chair and glanced around the corner of her desk where an all too familiar and undesired figure snatched up a lab computer as she slumped over of the countertop and completely ignored the chair.

_Musashi_, Gingie thought, steam rising from her intensely burning brown eyes through her squint. _What hole did she dare crawl out of?_

"If he had a special assignment," said Gingie lightly, "then it would be forbidden to you to know any information on his whereabouts, now wouldn't it?"

"When is he coming back?" demanded Gakuto.

Musashi clicked the mouse as she slouched over the desk in a manner that looked as if she was trying to hide her work from anyone near at hand. This, naturally caused Gingie to wonder all the more what the field agent had on her screen, but mere moments after she had gotten onto the computer, Musashi suddenly stood bolt upright in alarm.

"_Nani_!?" she cried.

"_Moshimoshi_? Gingie?" said the voice on the phone irritably.

"What beef you have with him will have to wait," said Gingie. "He'll show up eventually. No further conversation will be beneficial between us. Call him back later. Goodbye."

"But I've been trying to contact him for—"

_Click_.

Gingie closed her eyes a moment, and then turned back to her desk, not without positioning herself in a way which allowed her to see Musashi out of the corner of her eye.

"Come on," Musashi hissed. "What do you mean you can't—_RRRR_!"

Twirling a finger at the end of her short green hair, Gingie thought idly that if Musashi decided to smash the computer, then Gingie could get her into heaps of trouble or least take the money out of her meager pay check, since she and her partner finally by technically of them not being paid, they no longer owed Team Rocket any money for their ridiculous loans. A brand new Team Rocket computer would have to at least cost two or three month's salary and more considered the reduced pay Musashi and Kojiro had.

Unfortunately for Gingie, Musashi did no more damage than to pound the counter with her fist, and after another growl of unintelligible rants and threats, Musashi instead marched straight for Human Recourses, in other words, straight to Gingie.

Pretending only to notice Musashi at her approach before her desk, Gingie, looked up at her with glazed look of disinterest in her amber eyes.

"Musashi, you're alive," muttered Gingie.

Musashi paid no attention to mock pleasantries and slammed her hands over her desk the moment her hands could reach it.

"Why won't my ID number allow me into the Rocket files?" Musashi demanded.

Closing her eyes completely serene to spite the agent whom she despised far more than Lambda and Gakuto combined, Gingie retorted, "We've lost contact with you and your partner for three years the month after next. Things have changed back at Headquarters since you've last been here. IDs have been renewed at least twice, and cards are only secondary to wrist IDs."

Conscious of her own around her wrist, Gingie pulled up the cuff of her sleeve at which Musashi's eyes narrowed.

"You're still in the system, Musashi, but completely out of date," said Gingie. "You could say you're technically not considered a member anymore, but if you want an update into the system I might be able to arrange something for you. _Might_, of course."

"I don't have time for this!" snapped Musashi, blue eyes turning the color of her hair. "Gingie! Go on for me then! I need to know the status of Kojiro Niwa, my partner!"

Gingie shrugged.

"_IMA_!" Musashi screamed. "Or I'll wring your neck with the cords on your headset!"

"Oh, _really_, Musashi," Gingie scoffed.

With a heavy sigh, Musashi lowered her head to the desk, but as she rubbed a hand over her forehead, she opened her eyes with determination renewed.

"Listen," she said. "I really need to know the status of Kojiro Niwa. He's my partner. I have a right to know."

"If he's your partner," said Gingie, "then how should we know of his whereabouts anymore than you?"

"Because he …" Musashi's voice faltered a moment, and then clearing her throat she continued, "He went to fix a mix-up with our pokémon. He went to get them back from Team Rocket agents who took them somewhere, and now I don't know what happened to him."

Gingie chose not mention that Giovanni had been trying to contact the pair for work in Unova for the past year and a half. Certainly, Gingie took her job seriously, and it was not her job to tell Musashi what she should have been keeping track of. Why they had not kept in contact with Team Rocket for over two years, was of no concern to Gingie. It would have been better had Musashi never showed her face again. She and her partners hardly benefitted the team and not to mention that this careless, impulsive wreck of a woman before her was hardly fit to be called an agent. Besides that, the Unova Project was by now waning in importance, i.e. it had proved an utter failure, and the only reason for anyone to go to Unova now was to capture future shadow pokémon as Gakuto and his partner were doing. No new agents were needed in that region. The new focus was on the Northern Region and with the pestilence known as Team Polsar.

"Sorry, not my problem," said Gingie. "I don't think you people understand my job. I keep track of records. I make sure everyone gets their pay and pays for their debts. I keep records in order by updating and throwing out what no longer is necessary. I keep it all for the sake of professional management of Team Rocket Crime Syndicate. In other words, for Boss-sama and the executives under him and not for every field agent to butt into Team Rocket business for their pretty, idiotic mishaps or quarrels."

Having stared in wide-eyed disgust during the whole of Gingie's little speech, Musashi continued to stare for a moment before she found words to reply.

"What's your _problem_!?" snapped Musashi.

"I have nothing else to say to you than what I've already told you, and if you don't leave this instant or if you try anything violent, I'll have to call security," said Gingie, and she lifted the phone for emphasis. "If you leave now I may forget you came. Save yourself the humiliation, Musashi."

Musashi glared with a death lock onto Gingie's eyes, but Gingie, hardly daunted, only returned with a spiteful leer of her own. Intense silence stood between the two Team Rocket women and only broke when Musashi roughly kicked her desk. With a growl of rage, Musashi stormed out of Gingie's malignant presence.

#

Kicking up grass and wild plumes of dandelion seeds, Musashi flew across the grounds of Headquarters and out into the wood beyond. Still in her uniform, no one around would have thought much of her, especially considering who she was. For the first time in her life, she truly despised her old life. She despised everything that had to do with Team Rocket!

Team Rocket was ruining her life! And now, with going to Headquarters for answers becoming an utter failure, she had absolutely no idea where to look for Kojiro now. It just wasn't fair!

"_She'll have a better life than we did, our little rose," Kojiro said, so soft that it sounded as if the voice would just melt into butter as he gazed down at the tiny, new baby in Musashi's arms. "I'll make sure she does if it's the last thing I do."_

_He pulled down a fist of determination in his resolve._

_Musashi laughed. "Of course you will, and so will I."_

_They made a promise as husband and wife that no happier life would be had for a child. A childhood of freedom, love, and care without Team Rocket and without the aristocracy looming over the innocent head. They would be there for their daughter like no parents before them._

"_Our little baby," Musashi sighed as she fell asleep on Kojiro's shoulder … _

Finally in the shelter of the wood, Musashi slumped down at the foot of a tree and banged her head against it as she tried to keep tears from falling.

When she had had Bara-chan, she remembered it like a dream, yet as clearly as if it had happened yesterday.

They had talked before about whether or not they should even have children. Kojiro was the one who insisted that the point of marriage was for children, but he did not understand. Musashi had had nothing against having a baby of her own, it was just that the only thing that having a child between them made her think of was a lonely little girl, the daughter of one of the finest field agents in history, abandoned, not because her mother had not loved her, but because in her enthusiasm for Team Rocket, she had lost herself, and finally died because of it. Those fears haunted Musashi right up until the due date, but that was when everything changed.

Back in the present, Musashi, with a frown on her face, told herself that she would never break her promise. She would find Kojiro if it was the last thing she did. She lost him once; she would not lose him again.

Little did she know that Kojiro walked hardly a mile away from her, just making his own way to Headquarters with Nyaasu to hear his new orders from Giovanni himself. Musashi took off for another base she knew of, hoping that she would have better luck finding Kojiro there …

#

"Where has Pr. Buckthorn gone to?" asked an assistant professor strangely of a janitor. "He will be here for the meeting tomorrow, won't he?"

"Oh," replied the janitor with a laugh as he swung his broom, "he'll be here, don't worry. He's been called back home for unexpected personal business, you see, something to do with a brother in Saffron City in Kanto, but he assured me that he would be back just in time for the meeting, don't worry about that, Yuki-san."

Both, it must be confessed, were Team Rocket agents in disguise.

"Well, Senriof the Petalburg Gym has been asking about him," said the assistant. "He knows something."

"Who? The professor or the gym leader?"

"Well, of course the professor. I mean the gym leader, and he's starting to say things that won't go over well with the plan …"

And where was Pr. Buckthorn? Well, certainly not in Saffron City. In fact he had disappeared into the same place as Lambda of Team Rocket. This was because, if one has not already figured it out, Lambda and Pr. Buckthorn were one and the same man, and the master of disguise had slipped out of town for business of his own.

Leaving Kanto far behind, he slipped to the little bothered region of Orre as far out in the sticks as possible in the area surrounding the Nation. It was not even part of the Nation, but a separate country on its own governed by its own people and living in its own ways. Easy going and slow compared to the standards of much of the rest of the world's, the Orre Region lay apart, usually undisturbed by foreigners. In fact the only thing that stood out in Orre and that anyone ever heard about from Orre aside from the success of the Mount Battle which waned quickly with the new success of Mount Battle Kanto, was the history of Cipher and their Shadow Project. Now perhaps Cipher too would be dwarfed into nothing for the success of Team Rocket with the updating of the Shadow Project.

A punk walked the streets of Pyrite Town. With hands thrust in his long goth-like pants with as many buckles, straps, and spikes as could be had on a pair of pants without causing them to break the snap and the zipper, the punk strolled along at an easy pace. His spiked yellow hair glistening in the hazy, dry sun, and his tie-dye tee-shirt stuck fast to his body from the sweat of the now slowly fading afternoon.

He glanced idly from time to time to his surroundings through a pair of slick, violet-tinted sunglasses, but he rarely stopped though his pace proved unhurried. Finally he stopped at the side of a sack road where leaning against a wall sat who looked like a bum drunk, staring bleary-eyed out into the street. This new figure did not even notice the punk as he approached until he planted his feet inches from where the other sat. Then he only lifted his eyes like one drugged up to the lank punk.

"Whaddya want?" grumbled the man at the punk's feet.

For a moment, the punk looked rather bored. He glanced at his grubby nails and flicked some spec of sand out of his thumb nail with the nail of his pointer. Then adjusting his sunglasses a bit he said, "What does it take to become a member of Team Snagg'em?"

Instantly sobering, for he was in fact not really all that drunk even if he had had a little to drink from his bottle near at hand, but this was his post. This man was lookout for Team Snagg'em, and he had to look as non-team-like as possible even if most natives of the town knew enough to know that he was not really a drunk, but then most other teams did consider Team Snagg'em, if they even heard of them, as the worst team in history. Their name alone hardly inspired respect.

However the lookout, like a member of any team, considered his efforts more than worthy, and his loyalty for his team proved stronger than perhaps most Team Rocket members. Team Snagg'em, the punk knew to be like a family of glorified thieves like Robin Hood's merry men, only far less noble in their causes. Thus, in his pride, the Snagg'em agent looked upon this outsider with great disdain.

"What do you know about Team Snagg'em?" he sniffed.

Shoving his hands back into his pockets, the punk shrugged. "Pfft, well, I heard you needed new members, and I heard you were the one to ask."

"Got good ears, dope," sniggered the Snagg'em agent. "But not just any guy can sneak into Snagg'em."

"Dude, so what, I battle you to prove my skill?" asked the punk, holding up a pokéball from his spiky belt.

The Lookout shook his head. "I know for a fact, you're not from Pyrite Town. Who do you claim to be, huh?"

"Okay, well, I ain't from Cipher, if that's what you mean," muttered the Punk.

"So you say," muttered the Snagg'em agent, "but there're a whole lotta Rockets running around lately, and Cipher's a crippled lion. Rabbits strike it when it's down but silicon slab're behind it now and hard for rabbit teeth. Rabbits will find a way though, don't think they won't."

The Punk nodded sagely. "I know _exactly_ whatchya mean, dude. Rabbits, lions, silicone. It's like life itself is whirling for a kill out here in the boonies. I like the action. So I battle you now or what?"

Again the Lookout shook his head. "Did you hear a word I just said?"

"Yeah, lyrical!" sighed the Punk. "Just lyrical, dude. Touches me right here. Lyrical." He tapped his chest over his heart with the back of his thumb. "Like the band in Saffron City, always talking creatures. It moves me, man."

"Kanto city slicker, shoulda known, you punk," grumbled the Lookout.

"So we battle then?" demanded the Punk.

"We battle," snapped the Lookout in return, and without bothering to go anywhere more sheltered, he leapt to his feet and held up a pokéball. "You better battle well."

"Matter of perspective?" said the punk.

"We'll see," said the Lookout and threw his pokéball.

A slakoth appeared, not entirely ready for action in her lazy manner, but willing to fight nonetheless for her master.

Closing his eyes with a satisfied smile, the Punk released his pokémon, a koffing, floating in its noxious gas which inflated her like a balloon.

"Slakoth, yawn!" shouted the Lookout.

The Punk was far too clever for that and had his koffing evade the attack and dive in for a sludge bomb, which hit the slakoth squarely and poisoned it. The koffing was highly trained, and although his alter ego usually surrounded himself with as many koffing as he could carry, for this little detour he had only brought this one, for she proved his highest trained one to date, and as koffing did not live all too long as far as pokémon went, he prided himself in his ability to train koffing quickly and effectively.

Although poisoned, the slakoth, was ordered to scratch the opponent. The scratch attack only went a little ways, and koffing quickly regained standing, ready for more.

"Venoshock," said the Punk with a most punkish grin.

The venoshock proved always more affective after an opponent had been poisoned, and thus the acidic spray brought slakoth KO-ed on the ground, and the Lookout, after returning his first pokémon, chose a second.

"Wingull!"

"Sludge bomb," said the Punk again.

The Lookout called for agility, but far too late to miss the sludge bomb. However, after falling for the trick once, the Lookout did not intend for another venoshock to hit his pokémon. He called for a wing attack, and Wingull dive bombed Koffing. It hurt her a little but not much. Still gaining confidence, the Lookout called for another wing attack, but this time the koffing used harden, and Wingull's attack failed.

"Venoshock," said the Punk again, and it hit Wingull with the acid splash.

Wingull had a little fight left in him, though.

Once more, the frustrated Lookout called for wing attack, but the last sludge bomb did the pokémon in.

"So!" exclaimed the Lookout with a wild grin. "How 'bout Magcargo."

The strange fiery snail of a creature emerged now, and Magcargo used an ember attack that did this time do a lot more damage to the koffing.

But the Punk was not daunted in the least.

"Explosion!" he said, and it was all over quickly and neatly.

When the explosion cleared, the magcargo and Koffing were unconscious, but as the Punk still had one remaining pokémon that had never needed to venture out, his gulbat, the Punk won the battle.

The master of his koffing prided himself in his ability to train such pokémon so well, that was why he rarely, if ever, had them evolve into weezing. Besides the stench of weezing were a little harder to immune oneself to, and Lambda preferred the more energetically happy koffing to the slow, solid weezing.

"Good work, Koffing," said the Punk with a grin of proud affection as he returned his present favorite.

Yes, he knew that Team Rocket agents were not supposed to get too close to their pokémon. Team Rocket greatly frowned upon it, in theory, but if Giovanni himself could pamper his Persian pet then why could not the rest of Team Rocket have liking for some of theirs? After all over half the members at least had a favorite pokémon anyway, and almost all the younger agents could not help but care for at least one of their pokémon as more than a mere instrument.

The Snagg'em agent looked annoyed that he lost so easily at first and for a moment seemed to forget the purpose of the battle as he grumbled something rather rude under his breath and made to leave the area.

"Hey!" cried the Punk. "So I'm in now, right, dude?"

"Oh, right," said the Lookout. "You did well."

He turned around and recovered from his failure with an almost genuine smile.

"That's a crazy koffing you got there."

"_Shitteru_," said the Punk with an arrogant toss of his head. "_Jaa _… is that it?"

"We could use someone like you," said the Lookout, and he grabbed the taller man closer to his level so as to whisper into his ear, "But can you make against shadow pokémon?"

The Punk smiled. "What're you talking about?" he asked, shrugged widely.

"Any man, Snagg'em or not can be caught unaware in Pyrite Town," said the Lookout, and looking right and then left around the corners of his street, he pulled the Punk toward him again. "And you know what happens to 'em?"

"They get sacked?"

"They disappear," said the Lookout most confidentially.

The Punk laughed. "You're just trying to scare me off now. Well, it won't work."

A vile grin came in answer. "Sure, bud, sure, but I've seen with my own eyes what happens to stupid idiots that think they own Pyrate. Now come on, I'll show you to our King of Thieves, if you will."

"_Souda_!" said the Punk. "Sounds good to me."

But as the Lookout led the way down an alley he did not realize it until he came to the other side that the Punk was nowhere to be found.

* * *

**JAPANESE PHRASES**

_Nani:_ What

_Moshimoshi: _Hello (on the phone)

_Ima: _Now

_Shitteru: I know_

_Jaa: _Well then

_Souda: Right_


	9. Keva

JMJ

CHAPTER EIGHT:

Keva

"Ugh," sighed Musashi, and she sighed again, "_UGH_!"

No sign of Kojiro at any of the bases she knew of. No sign of Kojiro or Nyaasu anywhere! It just was not fair! But Musashi felt too tired to be angry right now. Her cargo pants and pink T-shirt, were wet with sweat. Her stomach growled angrily, and after a week of searching to no avail, she felt so lost. Now she found herself meandering in the direction of her house without knowing what else to do. She would regroup. Call Grammy and Grampy to see how Bara-chan was, and maybe go in for a visit before she checked out again. Maybe the old couple would even have some advice.

No. They would just tell her to call the police. She had already told them to call Kojiro's parents. The police probably already involved themselves. Well, the police never did anyone much good.

Seating herself on a park bench in the nearby little town, she slumped her head in her arms on her lap, and sighed once more.

"Kojiro," she breathed.

Then Musashi heard a familiar cry.

"_KREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE_ _vah_!"

"Hmm?!"

Musashi whipped up her head.

Yes, she had definitely heard that sound before.

"The keva," she thought out loud.

Leaping to her feet with a sudden burst of spirits, an idea struck like thunderbolt, and she knew thunderbolt, right through her brain. Immediately as the thought took hold, Musashi dashed into the direction of the sound, half tripping over herself as she started in her excitement. With a cry and flinging out her arms, she managed to steady herself, and she ran then with all her might.

The keva meant the possibility of Kosaburo and Yamato. Kosaburo and Yamato had wrist band IDs. They must! If so fact so, they could log on to any Team Rocket database computer and with their rather high status as field agents could easily find the location of Kojiro and end this stupid game that all Team Rocket seemed to be playing with her. Not that her happy, X-rivals would be all too willing to aid Musashi in her plight, but she would make them see the light or make them see stars, and not the Team Rocket kind either!

"So there!" Musashi gasped under her breath as she continued to run.

"_KREEEEEEEEEEE vah_!" came the cry again.

She almost fainted at what she saw.

"Huh?" she cried, and this time when she tripped, she really did lose her balance.

Falling forward onto her hands and knees, she quickly brushed herself off and picked herself up out of the tall reeds behind the house.

The keva, she saw roosted right on top of Musashi's house in a shaggy nest behind the chimney, and she spotted Musashi on the ground, piercing her with an intense curiosity.

"Keva …" said Musashi quietly.

The keva cocked her head.

Looking around Musashi could see no sign of Kosanji or bimbo head anywhere. However they had lost her, the pokémon had lost them good, and they probably would not think to come back here looking for her anymore than Musashi expected to see her here. Her eyes then fastened back onto the keva whose eyes had not faltered from her a moment.

"It's okay, Keva," said Musashi daring a few careful steps toward the house. "How 'bout you help me with a little favor, huh?"

The keva just stared.

"I got some food inside," Musashi said, lifting an enticing finger. "You just wait here, and I'll get something yummy, okay?"

The keva stared completely unmoved, as if hoping that in her stillness, Musashi might not see her, but Musashi far from being a T-rex in Jurassic Park, hurried inside and found for the keva a rice cake dumpling. Upon returning to the scene outside, she smiled broadly to see the keva still in her nest.

"Hey, look what I got?" sang Musashi. "Mmm, _oishi, oishi_. Don't you want some, Keva?"

The keva cocked her head with interest now and after a moment or two ventured from her nest to the edge of the roof.

"That's it," said Musashi. "Aw, you're such a good girl. Yes, you are. Come here, Keva."

"Kreee," murmured Keva.

"Good girl," Musashi cooed, stretching out her hand, trying to entice the bird down. "Come on."

In a suddenly flutter of wings, Keva gently hovered to the ground before Musashi. Cocking her head a little again, she took a step or two towards Musashi, and then quite suddenly, Keva graced Musashi's head with a peck.

"Ai!" cried Musashi clutching her head and dropping the treat.

In a flash the rice cake dumpling disappeared into that long yellow beak, but the keva seemed to smile then, quite satisfied. A strange sound between a chirp and a purr then escaped her in her delight as if cheerfully asking for some more.

Musashi growled a little but soon forced a smile.

"Good Keva," she said. "Now how would you like to help me get Kojiro and Nyaasu back, not to mention our pokémon? Would you like that, Keva?"

"Kree?" asked the Keva.

"Yeah, I need your help, and look!" Musashi gasped, reaching into a bag around her shoulder. "What's this? Oh, would you look at that, Keva! Dango. Mmm, C'mon."

Now she slowly stepped backwards, slowly and surely back away from the house. The Keva followed patiently; though, it looked like at any moment she might take the whole bag after giving Musashi's head a sharp peck again. It surprised Musashi to say the least when they actually passed over a hill and lost the view of the house. Once satisfied with the distance, Musashi gave the Keva another dumpling; the Keva purred her strange chirping purr, and closed her eyes as she savored the treat.

"Good," said Musashi straightening. "Now why don't you make that cry again for me?"

"Kree?" asked the Keva.

"Yeah, you know, 'KEEEEEEEEEE-vah!' That? You know?" said Musashi, trying her best to mimic the creature's sound. "Please, Keva. For me?"

The Keva looked more annoyed than anything else, and Musashi could not help but think that keva were not too bright for such rare creatures. Maybe they were rare because they were stupid, and not because they were special, because in their stupidity they ended up dying off.

Either that or the keva was too smart for her own good and knew perfectly well what Musashi was up to and did not want to risk getting caught again by Team Rocket agents again.

Musashi growled in frustration but cut herself short when she spotted a pond behind her, and a wry smile crept over her face.

"Hey, Keva!" cried Musashi, and she threw the bag with all her might into the pond.

With eyes popping out of her head the size of gongs, the keva dove for the bag in the water with a loud scream, that although was not the mournful call Musashi wanted, it still had the desired "KREEEEE" that proved well enough. Rescuing it like a wingull may dive for a lunch of fish, the keva snatched up the bag in her beak. Hovering just to the side of the pond, she dumped the contents out on the grass, and having neatly landed, the pokémon ate up the three or four dumplings that remained.

A heavy sigh slumped Musashi's shoulders as she watched the last dumpling slide down the Keva's green and blue throat. Would that sound be enough to draw in Kosaburo and Yamato? She thought of capturing the Keva in the pokéball again. After all, she had technically owned her previously. Perhaps the Keva would submit, but as she held out her hand with an empty pokéball beside her Lickitongue's ball, the Keva gave an angry scream and flew off into the distance.

"_Iya_!" cried Musashi leaping forward after the creature, but the Keva had no intention of returning. "Come back …"

The Keva quickly disappeared from view.

"Fine!" sniffed Musashi. "I'll figure out a different way to get Kojiro."

She refused to let herself fall apart this time. With firm resolution she marched in the direction back to town. Not that she had any idea what she would do once she got there, but she had to do something. She would decide once she got there, that's what she would do.

But she had only gone half a mile when she heard suddenly the vehicle behind her.

"Musashi!"

In a whirl, Musashi spun around, fearful eyes turning instantly into blazing orbs of fire as they fell upon Yamato as she and her partner leaped out of their jeep.

"If anyone asks us this or that …" Yamato started with a broad and sinister grin.

Kosaburo grinned just as sinisterly but not nearly as wild as he added, "The answer we'll give is society's—"

"Oh, no you don't!" cried Musashi with a scolding shake of her finger.

The pair stopped and glared with what Musashi considered quite childish scowls, especially Yamato.

Not caring what either did, Musashi marched straight up to the field agents.

"I don't have time for stupid copycat mottos!" she snapped throwing out her arms in exasperation.

"Well!" said Yamato. "We don't have time for stupid Team Rocket rejects."

Only the return of Kosaburo slow smile proved that he agreed, at least on the "rejects" part.

"Where's the Keva?" he asked with condescending patience as if he stood as a principal over a quite naughty, little student.

Musashi grinned dryly. "Oh wouldn't you like to know, Kosanji."

Composure fell instantly, and Kosaburo with a growl of rage cried, "KOSABURO!"

"They only do that because they know it makes you upset," grumbled Yamato.

Kosaburo threw his partner a savage snarl as if to say, "Who asked you, you ditz!" But he said nothing to her. Instead he returned to Musashi and with as much composure as he could regain, even if the sweat had not left his brow "Do you want a repeat of what happened last time?"

"Yeah!" agreed Yamato. "Our pokémon are far stronger than yours."

"Yeah, cuz Namba or some other stupid scientist did something weird to them," growled Musashi. "As usual. But …" and here she hesitated, quite changed in her tough demeanor.

The changed proved so sudden that both Kosaburo and Yamato had to wait and watch her to see what had brought on this sudden humility.

"Actually, I … I don't want a fight," she said twiddling her fingers. "I was hoping that maybe we could come to some sort of agreement."

"We're not sharing the keva," said Yamato. "We knew that you were the ones that stole her."

"But it must have escaped you too," said Kosaburo smugly.

Rage flared.

"This has nothing to do with that stupid keva!" snapped Musashi, and once again she digressed; her voice came out barely above a whisper. "It's about Kojiro."

"Kojiro?" demanded Yamato. "What about Kojiro?"

"He went to get our pokémon back that _you_ stole!" snapped Musashi. "And I'll have you know that Arbok and Weezing were Team Rocket issued and registered pokémon. You'll be in heaps of trouble if anyone finds out about that! But now I can't find Kojiro or Nyaasu, and my old ID won't let me into the computer database to find out if Team Rocket sent him off somewhere without ME!"

"Oh, is that all?" muttered Yamato.

Kosaburo rolled his eyes but had nothing he wished to add.

"What should you care about Kojiro?" Yamato asked. "If I were you I'd consider yourself lucky. It's not like he's of any use as a partner. I don't see what kind of value Team Rocket ever had with him anyway. His uniform is worth more than he is."

"TAKE THAT BACK!" snarled Musashi, making a lunge toward her.

A fearful cry of surprise escaped Yamato's pretty, kitten mouth, but her dainty appearance against, Musashi's taller, wilder look, was only a façade, and Yamato quickly, and with Olympic grace, avoided her attack, whether Musashi would have really jumped on her or not.

"Come on," Yamato grumbled with a nod to her partner as she brushed a loose strand of cherry-blond hair from her face. "Let's just leave her."

"NO!" cried Musashi, and as the agents turned back towards their vehicle, Musashi dove in front of them, blocking their way. Falling on hands and knees, she begged without thinking what she did, only that she wanted Kojiro back if it killed her. "Please! _Onegai_! Help me get back Kojiro!"

Yamato and Kosaburo jumped back in disgusted alarm and flinched their arms away from Musashi as she tugged on their uniforms.

"You have to help me! Let's let the past go."

"Musashi, this is just sad," muttered Yamato. "Even for you. I wouldn't help you in a million years, and you know that perfectly well. Just update your own ID if you want to find him so bad."

Here she crossed her arms, and with a haughty toss of her head she closed her eyes in her conviction.

Slowly Musashi's hands fell away from the uniforms, and she with a half innocent smile, turned solely to Kosaburo for her needs now. Straightening herself, though still on her knees, her smile turned into a child-like grin, and Kosaburo only leered back.

"I promise," said Musashi pleadingly though a tad cheekily as folding her hands together, "that if you help me, I will always call you Kosa_BURO_ and nothing else for the rest of my life."

Kosaburo's eyes flashed, and Yamato cleared her throat.

"_Baka_, Musashi," muttered Kosaburo then, and he roughly pushed past her.

Musashi watched helpless as the agents returned to their vehicle. Her hands fell onto the ground and she clenched her teeth in agony of how to stop them.

"_KOSANJIIIIIIIIIIIII_!" she screamed.

Kosaburo jolted to a stop, and Yamato slapped her forehead, for she knew perfectly well, there would be no stopping him this time. As he turned around monstrously, he gave Musashi a sharp kick in the side.

"If you call me that one more time, I'll kill you! All of you! If I ever see that stupid twit, Kojiro ever again, I'll kill him, you understand me, Musashi! And that nyaasu too! I make him my personal shadow pokémon! He was the one that sent my all those stupid Kosanji CDs for Christmas that one year!" Kosaburo screamed, and snatching a pokéball from Yamato's belt, he threw it with all rage onto the ground.

This released the skarmory which with a shared rage screamed with an unsettling sound that echoed over the valley, chilling the early summer a few degrees cooler.

With a mutter about melodrama and stealing her pokémon under her breath, Yamato picked up a pokéball of her own and released Ratticate (interestingly enough left un-shadowized), as she had no desire to snatch Tangella from Kosaburo's belt at this point in time. Yet, her partner was returning to his usual self as he looked down at Musashi sprawling in the grass, and a smug, careless grin formed on his face.

Musashi had no time to release her lickitongue. She barely had time to lift her head from the spot into which she had been kicked before Kosaburo called out for an attack. Bracing herself for a serious _yana kanji_, Musashi covered her head and closed her eyes, but just as she was sure the pokémon was about to attack she heard another attack being called out, and although feminine, the voice which called it did not belong to Yamato.

"Solar beam!" cried the clear, young voice.

"_SAUR_!" cried a pokémon in agreement.

In a flash of light that Kosaburo and Yamato did not have a chance to face, much less Musashi, a fiery explosion blew up before them, and the agents and their pokémon were out of sight by the time the dust and light cleared. They were in fact, Musashi realized, way up in the sky screaming out her and Kojiro's old "_yana kanji_", and with the twinkle of a star, they were gone.

They wanted hers and Kojiro's motto, balloon, and flare, they got their _yana kanji_ too.

Musashi sighed, and miserably let her head fall into her arms in the grass.

"Are you okay, ma'am?"

Freezing with sudden recognition, Musashi then threw up her head and hated the fact that she had been so right in her assumption. No, it was not the brat boy, well, the voice had been feminine anyway so it could not have been his, but who she was right before her meant that he surely could not be far behind.

The girl jumped back in Musashi's violent throwing of her head and the look of sudden panic on her face, and perhaps the girl saw something familiar in Musashi's face as well. Oh, Musashi hoped not! However, always the most sympathetic of the people the brat boy hung around, the girl instantly knelt by her side to see if Musashi was okay no matter who she happened to be.

"It's alright, ma'am," said the girl gently. "They're gone now."

"Uh, thank you," said Musashi, pulling herself to her feet and ignoring the pain in her side.

She grinned, though not without an odd squint about her eyes. In her intense state the sight of the huge, face of Venasaur in her own caused her to let out a shriek and fall back again.

"Veen!" boomed Venasaur as she lifted her great head, the leaves on her back shaking like a forest crashing down.

"They must have really shaken you up. Team Rocket can be a pretty nasty group when they jump on you like they did to you," said the girl with an honest smile as she reached a hand out to help Musashi up.

"Eh—ih—"

Musashi, staring up with arms holding her from behind where she now sat, allowed herself in her bewildered state to be helped to her feet by the girl.

Standing upright now, Musashi leered at the girl who was now almost the same height as she was. Of course by this time, she must be fifteen years old, perhaps reaching her full height. Her bandana which she used to wear was gone, but her hair style looked pretty much the same. Her clothes now processed the colors of green, blue and orange — coincidently pretty much the same colors as the keva (except no red this time), though in different hues and shades.

The girl introduced herself as Haruka, and of course, her simple way she asked, "Who are you? You look familiar, have we met before somewhere?"

"Brat girl!" shouted Musashi then as she woke from her stupor, leaping back and holding out her fists in front of her.

Haruka gasped as realization dawned on her. "Musashi!"

* * *

**JAPANESE PHRASES**

_Oishi: _delicious

_Iya: _no

_Onegai: _please

_Baka: _stupid/idiot

_Yana kanji: _bad feeling


	10. Missing Persons

JMJ

CHAPTER NINE:

Missing Persons

Haruka involuntarily leapt back, and her stance instantly became one on full alert as she looked from her left to her right for any sign of Musashi's partners.

"They're not here," said Musashi in a near pout.

"What do you mean?" asked Haruka, fist to her chest; her brow puckered with apprehension.

"Nyaasu and Kojiro aren't here," Musashi growled, and she turned away. "I don't know where they are." She paused a little then. Slowly returning to the confused girl, she asked hesitantly, "Where's the brat b … I mean your friend and his pikachu?"

"Oh, I don't travel with Satoshi anymore," said Haruka, smiling a little as she seemed to see that Musashi meant no real harm at this time, and really did appear to be the one in trouble. "Are you okay, Musashi?"

"Of … Of course I'm okay!" Musashi sniffed. "Why wouldn't I be? I don't work for Team Rocket anymore, if you're worried about that!"

Strangely enough Haruka did not seem a bit surprised, but straightening herself with a friendly grin, she held out her hand and said, "I'm very happy for you."

"Eh?" Musashi said drawing back again.

"I knew you and Kojiro wouldn't stay Team Rocket agents forever," said Haruka. "After you guys didn't show up anymore, I figured you gave up Team Rocket, but Satoshi didn't think so." And she laughed.

"What do you mean?" demanded Musashi darkly. "Weren't we bad enough for you?"

Haruka blushed and lowered her head a little embarrassed, but it did not last long before, she said quite honestly, "No." Then clearing her throat she said, with another slight giggle, "Wait till I tell Satoshi that I was right! He still won't believe it, I bet! Boys I think sometimes have a hard time accepting people changing more than girls, but I knew it all along!"

Opening her mouth again, Musashi was about to protest such an action as saying anything to that boy about her and Kojiro, but just as she started with the first syllable, Haruka suddenly said, "Are you hungry? I have some lunch!"

Musashi sighed. "My house is just—"

"You have a house?" Haruka gasped. "May I see it?"

"Uh …" Musashi started with a raised brow. "Okay."

So after Haruka returned Venasaur, more as if she stood in a dream world that reality Musashi led Haruka to the little cottage that she and the other two had build with the money Kojiro's parents had let them use. It was not much, looking more like one of the cabins that Musashi and Kojiro used to steal a night or two in when they were Team Rocket agents, but it proved functional enough for mild Kanto weather and small needs.

"Oh, _kawaii_!" cried Haruka when she first took in the sight of it, and she clasped her hands together.

Musashi could not help but smile in spite of everything.

"We like it," said Musashi.

"Did you … end up together?" Haruka ventured to ask.

Musashi stiffened. "_Nani_?"

"You and Kojiro," said Haruka.

_Oh, Kojiro! _Musashi thought miserably and roughly turned away, kicking a weed as hard as she could.

"What?" asked Haruka in alarm. "What's wrong?" Then she seemed to remember that Musashi had told her that she did not know where Nyaasu or Kojiro were. "What happened to them?"

"I don't know!" snapped Musashi. "I can't find them anywhere!"

"Hey, Musashi …" Haruka said, full of concern that annoyed Musashi.

Haruka had always annoyed Musashi. She seemed always too nice for her own good, and now more than ever she seemed to care far too much for a previous enemy of hers. Someone who had tried nearly every day to steal her pokémon, her food, and her good time, certainly could not instigate such kindness from the person upon whom these acts had been committed. Yet, there Haruka stood beside Musashi, and although there was a natural hesitance, for of course there had to be a little restraint due to their former relationship, but she meant only to comfort Musashi and no doubt see if she could help in some way.

At first Musashi had a mind to lie to the girl in her face something that would make her leave her alone. She did not need the help of any friend of the brat boy!

But she did, she knew. She needed help. She could not do this by herself. She doubted there was anything that Haruka could really do, but maybe just to talk about it with someone would make the whole situation feel a little clearly at least.

"Do you want to go inside and help me make rice balls?" asked Musashi.

Haruka looked quite confused at first, but after a moment a nod of understanding overtook her. She allowed Musashi to lead her into the house.

#

She did not tell Haruka everything, but she told her enough. About the strange pokémon that had landed on their roof, about Kosaburo and Yamato tricking Kojiro and taking his favorite childhood pokémon, not to mention their good battling pokémon. She told Haruka that Kojiro and Nyaasu went to go get them back and even how she had to stay behind to take care of Bara-chan — well, it was not as if she could deny the presence of an infant with all the baby toys, cradle, and other baby stuff lying around.

"She's with friends now, because I didn't know I'd be coming back for a while," said Musashi. "I hate being a lousy mother leaving her with other people that aren't her parents! It makes me sick! It's not fair, you understand?! She deserves better."

All the while Haruka listened, perhaps a little too wide eyed, but very politely and patiently. Not once did she interrupt as she listened above a plateful of untouched rice balls. When Musashi came to the close of her story about how she had run into Kosaburo and Yamato again, Haruka still remained silent for a moment or two before she could process all that had been told her and think of a proper answer, but when she did it came out with quite clear resoluteness.

"I'll help you find them, Musashi," she said.

"I knew you were going to say that," said Musashi in return, picking the side of her rice ball absently.

"Well, you spied on us enough to know us pretty well," Haruka admitted.

At first Musashi felt a prick of offence, but as she looked at the girl, she could not be angry with her candid innocence in making the remark. Instead she sighed and stared out the window with her chin slumping into her palm.

"But first I …" Haruka started then she hesitated, twiddling her fingers a little.

"What?"

"Well, I have to find my father first," said Haruka.

"Your dad?" demanded Musashi, straightening with a raised brow. "The gym leader? What he got to do with this?"

"Well, he's missing!" cried Haruka. "That's what I was doing before I ran into you. I thought I'd find out more in Kanto"

"He is?" Musashi said. "Why?"

"Well," Haruka answered. "It was almost a week ago now, and I know Team Rocket had something to do with it."

"You too, huh?" grumbled Musashi. "_Jaa_." She was not used to this sort of thing, but she knew Haruka would not ask if she did not bring it up herself, so she said as naturally as she could, though it still came out pretty awkward, "If you help me find Kojiro and Nyaasu, I'll help you find your dad."

"Oh, no, I couldn't—"

"Yes!" roared Musashi. "I'm helping you and that's final! Now eat that lunch, young lady! We got work to do!"

Quite surprised by the strange outburst despite her knowledge of Musashi's impulsive behavior, all Haruka could say in reply was a quick, "Yes, Musashi-san!"

"And don't call me san!" snapped Musashi.

"_Hai_!" Haruka agreed.

* * *

**JAPANESE PHRASES**

_Kawaii: cute_

_Nani: what_

_Jaa: well then_

_Hai: yes_


	11. Wristband

JMJ

CHAPTER TEN:

Wristband

What did happen to Kojiro during all this time, started with when he first entered the Team Rocket Headquarters with Nyaasu. It must be said that what Giovanni had originally wanted him and his partner for no longer mattered, for it had already been a failure in the Unova Region, not that he had gone into great detail with Kojiro and Nyaasu about it, of course. He told just as much about it as Kojiro had told the Boss about his near three years between contacting Team Rocket last and now. Instead the Boss told the young, uneasy agent before him, who really was no more than a boy still in all his mannerisms and awkwardness, that he had work for him in northern Johto.

"You do, Boss?" asked Kojiro, a sickening feeling beginning to swim in his stomach.

"What is it, nya?" asked Nyaasu, standing close at Kojiro's feet.

The Boss hardly graced Nyaasu with a glance but continued with eyes locked onto Kojiro's as he answered, "Yes, I have agents posted all along the border for two reasons: to protect our territory from Polsar's infiltration from the Northern Region and to gather more pokémon for the shadow project."

"_Hai_!" exclaimed Nyaasu.

Kojiro bowed his head, respectfully, but it was also to hide the terror growing on his face.

"Boss, a_rigatou_ _gozaimasu_," he said, trying not to tremble.

"Also, where is your partner?"

With a sharp gulp that almost gagged him, Kojiro lifted his head from his bow. Looking down at Nyaasu, he mentally begged assistance, for his mind had decided to abandon him, but the cat's return look proved not in the least bit helpful.

"She, uh, she … she … _quit_," Kojiro said, almost choked, and he bit his lip.

"Nya," Nyaasu growled, but as Kojiro returned to the Boss, the Boss did not look concerned.

Folding his hands over his desk, he said, "Then you'll have to be assigned a new partner."

"Yes, sir," said Kojiro, and he paused. "Should I go now then?"

"First have your ID updated," said the Boss. "Then directions will be given to you on your communicator, which will be given to you with the update."

At first, Kojiro readily agreed. Anything to be out of the presence of the Boss and his leering Persian sitting beside him in the darkened office. Yet what he soon found was that he should not have been so hasty to move on, for before he knew what had happened as he entered human resources, he had a metallic wristband clamped onto his wrist, enslaving him to Team Rocket.

Kojiro let out a cry.

"What's this for?" he demanded.

"Can't be too careful these days," said the man who had placed the cuff upon him.

Tugging at it a little, Kojiro found that it could not be removed.

Gingie, head of human resources, smiled with satisfaction from her desk before returning to her computer, and although Kojiro took note in it and shuddered, he did not know the significance of that sneer, except maybe that she was glad that the laughing stock of Team Rocket was at least half under control now.

"It can only be removed at Team Rocket Headquarters with this key," said the man who sliding a computerized wring over the wristband, demonstrated how the wristband could click open, and Kojiro could easily remove its loosened snaps now.

Before he could do so, the man snapped the cuff back shut.

"All your information is stored in there, and anyone not wearing one will be shut out of Team Rocket," said the man. "And every member can now be tracked if taken by the police or opposing teams. It can be removed by nothing either, not even the police nor any pokémon. Just this key and the very few copies that are made." He held it up again. "If an agent is killed the ID will send out his or her absence of bio signs back Headquarters, and the agent's body will be dealt with accordingly."

"It reads bio signs too, nya?" Nyaasu said, impressed. "Sounds like your whole life story's been spread out for you, Kojiro."

Kojiro threw him a frantic look, indicating that he was not at all taking this in the seriousness it needed.

"What about when we take showers?" Kojiro demanded; although designed for comfort of the wrist and not hindering to one's movement, the wristband already felt tight and hot.

"It's perfectly waterproof," muttered the man. "It would have to be for field agents anyway, now wouldn't it?"

"But isn't it bad for a person's wrist to have this thing on here _forever_?" Kojiro cried, his voice rising in anger.

"I haven't heard anyone having a problem with health because of it yet," grumbled the man, rather annoyed, "but if you want to take it up with the Boss …"

"No!" Kojiro gasped.

"Then shut it."

Lowering his head into meek compliance, Kojiro pulled his glove over the black cuff with its glistening red "R" logo printed upon it, and he said no more about it. It could barely be perceived through the glove; its design proved so sleek and complimentary to the wrist.

Only now did Nyaasu grace Kojiro with a look of sympathy, but Kojiro did not see it, his eyes still locked upon his wrist.

After being handed his cell phone/communicator and sent off to get a new uniform, a shadow pokémon Kojiro and a map of his new location was then told that he also was to meet his new partner.

"Partner?" Kojiro cried.

"Well, sure," he was told. "If your old partner is gone, then you need a new one, and we have just the person for you. She's a newer agent but quite good. With your … mmm, experience—"

Nyaasu snorted.

"And her skills and fresh energy, you should be a great pair."

The look on Kojiro's face told that he did not share the confidence in this statement.

"You'll be sent out immediately to meet her on site in northern Johto."

#

"Remember that time," said Nyaasu, "you and Musashi kept stuffing those rare candies down my throat, hoping it would make me stronger and learn pay day, nya?"

Kojiro threw an irritated glance in his direction. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"I threw up, nya," said Nyaasu.

Closing his eyes a moment and crossing his arms, Kojiro said, "Yes, I remember." He sighed miserably.

"Because I had too many, nya" said Nyaasu. "You were trying too hard, nya."

"Your point?" Kojiro demanded. "Look, I'm sorry about that, okay! That was ages ago. I'm having trouble enough as it is. I don't need you to remind me about stuff. I'm already remembering all kinds of stuff I'd rather not."

"N-yeah, but you ever get the feeling Team Rocket's trying too hard, and everything they've been trying to accomplish will blow right back out again, nya?"

"I don't know, _doushite_?" Kojiro moaned itching absently at his wristband before shoving a rice ball into his mouth.

Nyaasu lifted his eyes to Naomi, the girl who now happened to be Kojiro's partner. Young, hardly more than seventeen, baby blue hair graced her head, large greyish green eyes, her build short, a little stocky perhaps, but her face held a particular charm about it when she was not being a know it all. With a shake of his head Nyaasu recalled the first thing she had told Kojiro: "I know you," she had said. "You're one of those two crazy agents." Oh, that was him alright.

Having finished eating already, the girl stood impatiently at the top of the hill and looked down toward the town with her plans and careful calculations for her next move drawn in a notebook. She marked something with a pencil on her paper and then returning to the town she grumbled, "Are you done eating yet?"

Nyaasu returned to Kojiro and smiled half heartedly.

"Not yet," Kojiro said, and lowering his voice to Nyaasu, he said, "We gotta get out of here."

"I kny-ow, I kny-ow," Nyaasu hissed back. "We just have to bide our time, nya."

Kojiro groaned.

"No wonder you and your partner never accomplished anything, you're so lazy," grumbled Naomi; she said nothing about Nyaasu's and Kojiro's whispering to each other.

"We'll get it off, Kojiro, nya," Nyaasu whispered through a cupped mouth into Kojiro's ear.

Still Kojiro groaned.

"Come on!" moaned Naomi throwing her head back like an exasperated teenager impatiently waiting for her ride to pick her up, which in at least the teenaged sense she was! "I got the plan, now let's go!"

"What are we doing, nya?" asked Nyaasu.

Slapping her forehead, Naomi said with a loud groan, "Weren't you listening?"

"Ny-o," retorted Nyaasu. "I was too busy getting the lint out from between my toes."

"You don't wear socks," said Kojiro raising a brow.

Nyaasu waved a paw aside. "Nyah, whadda _you_ kny-ow, nya?"

"So," said Kojiro after a short, awkward silence, "tell us your plan."

Naomi cleared her throat. "Okay, it's pretty simple really. Nyaasu cuts the power cuz he's small and no one will notice him. We sneak in and grab the pokémon and leave. It's as easy as that. No stupid motto or anything that will ruin our element of surprise."

Kojiro glanced at Nyaasu, Nyaasu glanced back, and neither said a word.

"I said, it's as easy as that!" said Naomi.

Nyaasu shrugged. "Sure, kiddo, nya."

"So are you coming or what?" Naomi demanded, and she paused. "You think it's stupid don't you?"

"Nya!" cried Nyaasu as if deeply wounded. "I didn't say that! Did you, Kojiro?"

Kojiro still remained silent, but only gave Nyaasu a weary look that Nyaasu thought fit a man twice his age at least, but not someone in their early twenties. With a roll of his eyes, Nyaasu returned to the girl.

"It's nyah … well, it's as good a plan as any, nya!" Nyaasu exclaimed.

"Then why aren't you coming?" the girl demanded.

"Because, nya," said Nyaasu.

"Because you're so lame that you think you might mess up?" Naomi grumbled.

"N-yeah!" cried Nyaasu cheerily. "N-yeah, that's it. We might mess it up for you, nya, and think about what a shame that would be, a brilliant plan messed up by a buffoon and his cat, nya." He grinned widely.

Crossing her arms staunchly, Naomi looked from Kojiro to Nyaasu and back again. Both cat and man grinned strangely at her.

"Fine," she said. "Just fine. I don't need your help. You'll see. I'll do it all by myself!"

"Then go, nya!" Nyaasu cried.

"I'll report you back to Headquarters," muttered Naomi.

"Oh, go ahead, nya," said Nyaasu.

"Nyaasu!" Kojiro gasped.

"Oh, you're alive, nya!" Nyaasu patted Kojiro's leg, and when he turned back to Naomi, he saw to his satisfaction that the girl in a great huff went down the hill herself. With a nod, he sat down beside Kojiro with and smiled smugly.

"Do you …" Kojiro hesitated. "Do you think we should go with her?"

"I thought you didn't want to be a thief, nya," Nyaasu reminded him.

"I don't!" Kojiro squeaked. "I just … I … I don't want anything to happen to her."

"Why ny-ot, nya?" Nyaasu demanded.

Now really could not be the time for pity, especially for someone who could care less whether the Boss had them liquidated or not.

A heavy sigh escaped Kojiro, but he said nothing more.

Contented, Nyaasu then took it upon himself to peel off Kojiro glove and toss it onto the ground behind him. Kojiro offered his hand for Nyaasu's better speculation of the wristband, and as Nyaasu examined it with a thoughtful paw under his chin and another paw touching around the sides where Kojiro's skin met with the strange cuff, an idea blossomed in his mind.

"All this ny-eeds is some cooking grease, that's all, nya," said Nyaasu.

"Cooking grease?"

"Sure," said Nyaasu, reaching into a bag behind him and pulling out said item. "See? Cooking grease. We'll slide the cuff off you, nya?"

"I … guess so," said Kojiro.

Nyaasu nodded, and grabbed Kojiro's wrist again. "Of course, it'll work!"

Greasing the wrist as much as he could, practically emptying the bottle in the process, Nyaasu tossed the bottle behind him. Taking the cuff then into his paws, Nyaasu began to pull. He lost his grip but soon had hold of it again, pulling at the edges of the cuff with all his might.

"Nyaasu!" Kojiro cried, pulling his hand back, but Nyaasu did not let go, and even pulled all the more with feet pushing against Kojiro chest.

Kojiro meanwhile, with teeth clenched in pain, tried to help pull, but it was no good.

"_Ita_!" sobbed Kojiro.

"Just a little more, nya!" Nyaasu said. "I think I almost got it."

As Kojiro suddenly stood up, Nyaasu fell to the ground with a thud.

"Nya!" Nyaasu growled. "You want me to get it off or ny-ot?"

With a slight sob, Kojiro clutching at his throbbing wrist, he shook his head.

"It's not coming off this way."

"Well, maybe if we put on more grease, nya," said Nyaasu helpfully. "Come on, Kojiro squeeze those fingers together! Get that thumb down! It should come off, nya!"

Though he squeezed his eyes shut from the prospect of the new pain, Kojiro nodded, and kneeling down in defeat, he allowed Nyaasu to try again. This time, tears began to trickle out of his eyes as Kojiro moaned through tightly clamped teeth.

Nyaasu's teeth were clenched pretty tightly as well as he hissed through them to say, "Squeeze those fingers in, Kojiro; you're hand's ny-ot that big, nya."

"I can't!" sobbed Kojiro. "They won't flatten anymore. Nyaasu! STOP!"

This time, Nyaasu dropped of his own accord.

"How are we gun-nya get it off then, nya?" Nyaasu demanded.

"How should I know?!" Kojiro shrieked in return as he grabbed again tenderly at his wrist. "But you're gunna pull my hand off if you do it that way!"

"Hey, at least you'd be free, nya," said Nyaasu with a shrug.

"Nyaasu!" cried Kojiro. "Can't you take this seriously?!"

"I _am_ taking this seriously!" snapped Nyaasu.

"You mean you think I should really take off my hand!?" Kojiro wailed.

"Oh, just stop it, Kojiro, nya!" Nyaasu snapped. "You were getting so good too, and ny-ow you're gun-nya mess it all up! Think of what kind of example to your children you'd be acting like a wussy, whiny baby, nya! Don't lose it ny-ow, nya!"

Kojiro nodded, and tried desperately to calm himself.

"Right," he agreed. "You're right, Nyaasu."

_Good_, Nyaasu thought, and then he thought some more, rubbing his chin as a new idea formed.

"Maybe we can torch it off, nya," he mused.

"Torch it!" screamed Kojiro.

"Hey!" Nyaasu said, pointing a finger into Kojiro's face so that he almost touched his nose. "What were you just saying, nya?"

"Right," Kojiro sighed, and slumped with face toward the ground.

"They gave you that fire pokémon, remember, nya?" said Nyaasu.

"It's a shadow pokémon," Kojiro said.

"Well, Gar-Chan's flame thrower could be too big, now wouldn't it, nya," said Nyaasu. "That harflame they gave you would have a smaller, more accurate flame, nya."

"But they said it was impenetrable by pokémon," said Kojiro. "And Harflame's a little bunny rabbit. Besides, she's … she's a shadow pokémon."

Nyaasu shook his head. "Kojiro, Kojiro, Kojiro, nya."

"What?" Kojiro demanded.

With a smile, Nyaasu told him, "You know when Team Rocket would say that ny-othing could break through, and something was impenya-etrable when we were agents, nya? And how every time someone said that, including us, the brat boy — er, Satoshi, or whatever his names is — and his little friends would break through, ny-o matter what it was or how impenya-etrable we thought it was, nya?"

"Uh …" Kojiro twiddled his fingers.

"Then why is it gun-nya be any different ny-ow, nya?" asked Nyaasu. "Watch! I bet even my slash attack can get through!"

Bracing himself a moment over the cuff, Nyaasu waited until Kojiro steadied his wrist and then the cat slashed with all his might over it with 10 point grace. A few seconds later, however, that grace fell away, and after an interlude of blank-faced realization, agony replaced all, and Nyaasu let out a shriek.

"NYA-A-A-AH!" he wailed, clutching paw and licking where his claws had recoiled into place.

"Is it that hard?" Kojiro gasped.

"Whaddya you think?" Nyaasu sobbed, and after a moment of nursing his paw, he then said, "Iron tail's gotta work."

"Iron tail?" Kojiro repeated.

"I didn't waste my time forgetting scratch and replacing it with iron tail to ny-ever use it, nya!" Nyaasu cried and looked around. "Here, Kojiro. Put your hand on that rock."

Kojiro gulped. "Nyaasu …"

"Just do it."

Slowly Kojiro made his way to the rock and put his fisted hand over the top as he squatted next to it.

"Nyaasu," said Kojiro again. "This isn't a good idea."

"Just hold still, nya," said Nyaasu, and now he readied his tail in karate style.

Slamming down his tail as hard as he could then in a swoosh, it banged down against the cuff. Kojiro shook as the attack rattled through his entire frame, but when both he and Nyaasu looked after recovering (Nyaasu had been just as shaken up if not more so), it seemed that again all the pain had been in vain. The cuff appeared as brand spanking new as when it had first been clapped onto Kojiro's wrist.

"Then get out that harflame, nya!" Nyaasu growled.

"No!" Kojiro screamed as he leapt frantically to his feet and clutched his wrist away, but after a moment or two he relaxed a little and let his wrist fall to his side. "Nyaasu, I can't take anymore right now. Let's just wait a little while. Maybe something better and less painful will come to us."

"Nya …" Nyaasu sighed.

"Why don't you go somewhere to get help!?" Kojiro gasped suddenly.

"_Doko_?" Nyaasu demanded.

"_Anywhere_!" Kojiro growled.

Nyaasu shook his head.

Although, he did not show it, Nyaasu still felt guilty about getting himself and Kojiro into this mess. He had promised Musashi that Kojiro would be alright, and he remembered the number of times Kojiro warned about his bad feeling about the situation when they would have been able to escape. Nyaasu too had felt that they were not being careful enough, but Nyaasu did not listen to instinct. Perhaps he had trained himself to be humanlike to the point of being worse than most humans really were in that regard, but Nyaasu had been too excited at the time to care. Now he had paid the price, and Kojiro suffered for it.

He could not leave Kojiro now.

"Why don't you use your cell phone, nya?" asked Nyaasu.

"I can't," Kojiro grumbled. "They gave me a new one, and my old one's back at the base. My call will be tracked."

Nyaasu let out a loud groan, but it was cut short as Nyaasu noticed an idea strike through Kojiro's face.

"_Ny-ani_, nya?" asked Nyaasu hesitantly.

"I have an idea," Kojiro whispered.

"That's always dangerous, nya," Nyaasu told him.

Glaring at Nyaasu, Kojiro let his shoulders stoop.

"Sorry, force of habit, nya," Nyaasu admitted. "So what is it?"

"We get a magnet!" Kojiro cried.

"A magnet?" Nyaasu repeated. "What's that gun-nya do, nyah?"

"Go into town and get one — a strong one!" Kojiro gasped.

"_Doushite_?"

"Well, magnets can screw up TVs and computers, right?" said Kojiro, holding up a hand as if to offer a tangible blue print of his plot. "So why not this?"

"Kojiro," said Nyaasu, "that's just weird, nya."

"But isn't it worth a try!?" Kojiro cried.

Nyaasu shrugged. He supposed it was worth a try.

* * *

**JAPANESE PHRASES**

_Hai: _yes

A_rigatou_ _gozaimasu: _thank you (formal)

_Doushite: _really

_Ita: _ouch

_Doko: _Where


	12. Odd Partnership

JMJ

CHAPTER ELEVEN:

Odd Partnership

Lunch had been cleared away and now the two young women sat down to business. Folding her hands over the table, Musashi's face held such an exaggerated seriousness that Haruka might have laughed if she had not been so empathetic toward Musashi's case having lost her husband just as Haruka already lost her father. She had almost forgotten how strange Musashi and her partners was in her mannerisms, but she did feel something different about Musashi. Perhaps that was why she instantly believed Musashi in her claim at reforming, that and as she had said not long ago, Kojiro and Musashi and Nyaasu as well, had not been nearly as cold hearted as they had wanted everyone to believe (not saying they were not evil, mind, but not so core deep as could not be changed).

Haruka recalled now, in fact, that she thought not long before the trio had disappeared that a little nudge in the right direction and they had it in them to be good. Satoshi had never felt it, she supposed, in his straight forward, unchanging view of the world, bless his dear boyish heart. They had been slaves to what her practical brother had once called "emotionalism", something Haruka did not quite understand herself, and Masato had not been speaking of Team Rocket when he had explained it, but from the little Haruka did understand she felt certain that it had explained the trio.

What first ignited such thought, though, was that time at Kojiro's summer home. Haruka could still remember that strange night quite clearly, her munchlax sick alongside Kojiro's chimecho.

Anyone who knew anything about Kojiro knew that he was practically obsessed with the creature and although at the time, Haruka had been quite preoccupied with her own pokémon's illness and the kindness of Kojiro's strange but goodhearted family servants which cared for the place, she could recall that look on Kojiro's face.

He had said that Munchlax would be okay. She remembered that, but what Haruka remembered more was the expression before that.

Before that day Kojiro had appeared to a twelve year-old Haruka as a tall, creepy, near inhuman person. Sort of like a scary cartoon character from far away, a menacing, insane band member when closer up and rocketing and simply pathetically insane when he was not trying to be evil, but that night he looked very different. In the light of the clear night through the long broad windows sitting before his sick pokémon, he looked up at her with an expression of a hurt human being. She had wondered if it was not her girlish fancy shortly afterwards, but that he looked downright sick himself.

She wanted to say something for a moment, something that might comfort him, but she could think of nothing in the world to say to such a person as sat before her, a little girl before who was to her a strange young man that she did not even know she truly wanted to understand.

She had not lived through all the time that Satoshi and Takeshi had of all those first schemes with Team Rocket chasing, scheming, spying, always behind his back until they decided to randomly jump out of nowhere to take his pokémon, again, and again, and again, and at first they had not been so "nice". Satoshi had seen the trio at their worst. By the time Haruka had come into the picture, Musashi, Kojiro, and Nyaasu had come to a rut in their career, spending more time watching pokémon contests or trying to get into them than actually committing crimes that got any further than their motto, but she could not help herself thinking that would Musashi, Kojiro, and Nyaasu not be happier quitting Team Rocket and giving up being thieves, and dishonest creeps …

"Okay!" exclaimed Musashi, startling the girl out of her thoughts.

"Hmm?!"

"Let's get down to business!" Musashi said. "First thing's first. Did your father have anything to do with those idiots Kosanji and Yamato?"

"I … I don't think so," said Haruka. "I haven't seen those two since I was still with Satoshi, and uh … Oh! Just now with you. That was them, wasn't it? I wasn't there when my father disappeared. I was trying out the Johto League, actually. I know I'm not technically a trainer, but I thought it would be fun to try — well, all I know is that he went out of town for a while, and he never came back."

"Then …" said Musashi, raising a skeptical brow. "How do you know Team Rocket's got anything to do with it?"

"Well, cuz, when I got to Petalburg, they told me he was talking about Team Rocket and some strange project he thought they were up to based on something that happened in the Orre Region that I, uh …" she laughed sheepishly. "I don't really know anything about it. I'm guessing it has something to do with what they just did to the poor pokémon that those two Team Rocket people had."

"Yeah," said Musashi. "_Something_ weird."

Haruka lowered her head to the table sadly. "I know they kidnapped him. That's why I came back to Kanto. The police think so too, but I wanted to look myself."

Musashi stiffened, and her face turned pale.

"The police are involved?" she demanded.

"Well, yeah," said Haruka, curious why Musashi found this to be such an utter surprise. "Didn't you call the police about Kojiro?"

"No," came the blunt reply.

Haruka smiled. "You really should. It's not like you'd go to prison now that you're not agents anymore. I mean doesn't it look more suspicious that you _didn't_ call them?"

"Uh … do you remember our record?" Musashi demanded.

"Oh, I'm sure they'd give you break if they knew all you were going through and the fact that you really have reformed."

"If they believe us," Musashi muttered, slumping her chin into her palm. "Besides," and here she turned rather idly toward the window, "I got an idea."

"You do?" asked Haruka.

"Yeah," said Musashi. "Now that we're partners instead of going solo we can watch each other's backs. We got walkie talkies and stuff, and I think I know how we can both find out where Kojiro and your father is."

"How? By sneaking into Team Rocket's hideout?" asked Haruka.

"Uh … well, actually, I was thinking—"

"You know where it is!" gasped Haruka. "You can take us there!"

Musashi glowered. "I didn't say that!"

But excitement overwhelmed Haruka far too much to listen by this point.

"We can sneak in and pretend we're Team Rocket people, and no one will even notice. Then we can log onto their system or something, and that'll tell us everything we need to know about everything! My father! Kojiro and Nyaasu! And even about their secret project that my fa—!"

"We can't use the computers," said Musashi flatly.

"Why not?" asked Haruka, coming down from her lofty cloud.

"Because we need wrist IDs to get into the computers," Musashi explained with a sarcastic huff, as she crossed her arms behind her head. She closed her eyes a moment muttering something about human resources under her breath.

Haruka hesitated. "Then …" she said, "does that mean that going to the base won't do any good?"

"No," said Musashi. "Computers aren't the only place to get information."

"It's not?" asked Haruka eagerly.

Slowly Musashi opened her eyes, and rising from her seat she said with a shrug, "You just have to know the right place to listen. It doesn't matter how secure their system is, Team Rocket's still Team Rocket! I know exactly who'll tell us what we need to know."

"You do?" Haruka asked.

Musashi smiled, obviously liking the enigmatic atmosphere she created, but given the circumstances she relented of her mystery and told her the plan.

#

Pushing away the thick leafy branch, Haruka beheld the magnificent building before her.

"Wow …" she breathed, and she turned to Musashi. "How come nobody notices this place? Doesn't anyone besides Team Rocket know this place is here?"

Musashi rolled her eyes.

"I was never in charge of keeping Headquarters a secret," she said. "I think it's just cuz people don't think that a Team Rocket base would be so obvious. I mean the Boss owns all kinds of stuff, especially in the Kanto Region. It's not like he can't take care of stuff like that. I think they just say it's some kinda private lab or something. I dunno."

Letting loose a shrug, Haruka let the subject be. Though she had to wonder why an agent would not be required to know what the front of their base was.

"Musashi," said the girl, "are you sure this is going to work? I mean, are you sure it wouldn't be better if I pretended I was a field agent too?"

"No, you can't pretend you're a field agent," Musashi warned dangerously. "Agents are being watched, I think. They gotta wear those wrist IDs, remember? Who know what else they gotta do now." She groaned. "It's just a good thing me and Kojiro weren't around to see this stuff happen."

Haruka frowned. "Whaddya mean?"

"Field agenting used to be really loose," said Musashi.

"_Hontou desuka_?"

"They had their own free status," said Musashi with a twirl of her hand, "to do whatever stupid thing they wanted as long as they were loyal."

"Oh," said Haruka and turned again to the main base. "But a maid?"

"Sure," said Musashi. "No one notices the maids, but if you don't want to do this I'm not making you."

"I want to do this," said Haruka quite stubbornly.

"Alright," Musashi replied lightly. "Then put on the maid disguise, and if I know what I think I know from living at Kojiro's house for a while, those servants hear more than anyone else. So you're bound to hear _something_ good."

"Okay," said Haruka with a nod. "Let's go then."

"_Hai_!"

As quietly and quickly as possible, the pair slipped back into the brush and exchanged their clothes for the Team Rocket disguises: Haruka in a black and white maid outfit and Musashi in her usual Team Rocket field agent uniform.

"Come on," said Musashi, waving a hand forward. "I bet they still have the secret entrance open."

"_Sugoii_, a secret entrance?!" gasped Haruka who could not help but feel a thrill despite the seriousness of their mission, but she was not too afraid.

She had a full party of well-trained pokémon to back her up, and Team Rocket guards and field agents were not known for being too clever in battle. They must spend more time on the espionage part of the organization than the actual pokémon battling, Haruka decided.

"Shh!" snapped Musashi. "Quiet."

Haruka nodded readily.

"_Ii wa ne_!" whispered Musashi.

Looking left and then right through the brush, Musashi then slipped out onto the open grounds. Haruka, after a moment's hesitation, quickly followed after her.

#

Cell phones could be tracked. Any computerized communication could be considered dangerous. The only safe communication for secrets meant to be kept off record, especially without the knowledge of Giovanni, was in person in casual atmosphere.

Three seated themselves to their tea. Two had already been there waiting, and the third had just arrived. The fourth could not be present as he had a mission alongside the Boss' daughter. Thus Apollo had business conducted without him.

Lance would find out soon enough. Besides, Lance was more for outward force and skill, Lambda was the one for secrets.

"I told them that the Boss had me check up on things at Namba's base in northern Kanto," said Lambda with a shrug.

"And they believed that?" asked Athena skeptically.

"They never question my motives," said Lambda. "Maybe they did, maybe they didn't, but I'm expected to snoop. Trouble is, no one can ever tell where or when or whom I'll show up as even if they're on the lookout for me. Pr. Buckthorn will just have to wait."

Closing his eyes with hands folded over the table, Apollo took in a slow deliberate breath before he asked, "Lambda?"

"It's just like we thought," said Lambda with a loose shrug before taking a careless sip at his coffee.

A very dark look crossed Athena's face. A rage shone in her eyes that might have rattled like a rattlesnake's tail, but Apollo remained completely composed as before, showing no sign of any emotion.

Throwing his arm over the back of his chair, Lambda went on, "They've got Snagg'um agents doing their dirty work now, but the plan will be set in motion soon enough, don't you bet it won't."

Athena lifted her head from her brooding thoughts in her coffee and said proudly, "Giovanni is a disgrace to his mother and his father too, I wouldn't doubt, but he was far before my time. All I know is that Madam Boss is turning in her grave to see what her son has done."

A slow smile appeared on Apollo's face. "Mutinous words, Athena."

"But would either of you dare to turn me in?" asked Athena.

Lambda laughed. "Well, Apollo's got too much to hide himself for that, and I know Lance won't. Depending on circumstances, I suppose you can't trust me with anything, but …"

"Then what do you propose, Apollo?" asked Athena then, choosing to completely ignore Lambda's seeming inability to take the situation seriously.

Apollo glanced briefly to Athena but seemed to need another answer before he could reply to his fellow Team Rocket executive.

"Are no agents involved?" he asked Lambda.

"Aside from the unfortunate circumstances with former agent Mariko AKA Katana, no," said Lambda.

"Katana …" hissed Athena before Apollo could speak again. "Gakuto's sister. Tatsumi's cousin. Yudai's daughter. She was from core Team Rocket. I hated her forced resignation."

"At the time it was for the best, and she was turned in by one of _your_ daughters," Apollo pointed out.

Athena clicked the roof of her mouth. "That was not Katana's only fault," she said. "But I find her end even more shameful than her resignation. You're not trying to tell me that she agreed willingly, Lambda?"

Lambda grinned, indecipherably. "If it was willing, I doubt they told her the whole thing."

"This isn't funny," said Athena. "I take it all _very_ personally."

"I know, and that's why Giovanni agreed to it all in the first place," said Lambda with a dry laugh. "He's cleaning house! Can't you see that?"

"Katana is _not_ the point of this discussion," said Apollo then.

"Oh, yes she is!" cried Lambda. "Katana's the daughter of Yudai whose brother had Tatsumi whose mother is the mentor of Athena's oldest daughter. Don't you see? He's afraid of clanning!"

"Clanning?" demanded Athena. "Is that even a word?"

"What does it matter?" asked Lambda with a shrug. "Without Giovanni this team would be the closest thing to a Ninja clan without the martial arts that there possibly is! Everyone is so intertwined that as a whole they pose a threat to the big Boss himself!"

"You're not related to anybody," sniffed Athena.

"And so what if I'm not?" cried Lambda. "There's enough who are. Even old Apollo himself here, has the honor of being the father of the greatest female reject of _Roketto_ _Dan_! We're all connected, and we've all been a bit more 'mutinous' as Apollo calls it. Hey! Look at us three now?"

"We'd all have been loyal to the death if he had not decided to entertain his pet monkey scientists," Athena retorted.

"But does he want to take that chance? Remember at the beginning of the war? The first death of a Rocketer. That kid had already knocked off a guy on the Polsar side for mocking his Jigglypuff (unprofessional in itself) and it was merely in self defense to get him away that Bunta was killed by the other Polsar agents. But that started the war full blast in mortal combat. His two brothers came to avenge him. His mother came to avenge him. His sister, his cousins, half of which were supposedly mere blindly obedient grunts came to avenge him. They weren't loyal to the Boss, they were loyal to their familial bonds. How do you think that looks to the Boss?" he shook his head sympathetically. "You think he approves of a criminal syndicate resorting to such unprofessional revenge?"

"He's described Team Rocket as a family before," Athena mocked. "He has a daughter of his own and nieces and nephews in Team Rocket. His own brother too." She motioned to Apollo.

"Our loyalty doesn't get in the way of our own goals and interests," said Apollo.

"And I don't think he wants it that literally for us all," said Lambda rather lightly.

Athena opened her mouth to say more, but just as she was about to speak, there was a knock at the door. She closed her mouth and forced placidity to take her face.

"Come in," said Apollo.

The door burst open and a grunt flew into the room, catching himself from falling into the table.

Throwing an arm behind his chair again, Lambda stifled a laugh. Athena glanced to him with disapproval.

The grunt bowed.

"Apollo-san, I was sent to tell you that two people have entered a secure area. We were at first going to attack but our superior told us to ask you if you have other plans," said the grunt as straight and serious as a soldier and as obediently respectful as a well-trained dog.

"Trainers?" asked Apollo dryly.

"No, sir, Apollo-san," said the grunt, bowing his head. "One of them is Musashi."

"Musashi and Kojiro aren't a threat," grumbled Apollo. "If it's the idiot Musashi have someone grab her and make her update her ID or threaten to have her liquidated for refusal."

"More likely if they refuse," sniffed Athena, "they'll be sent to the Orre Region."

The grunt cleared his throat a tad uneasily before saying, "The other one we are unsure of, but she looks like a maid. Our superior is checking now to see if the maid is working here."

"That still doesn't explain why she isn't wearing an ID," said Athena.

"The maid could be her partner in disguise," said Lambda with a grin.

"No, Lambda-san, sir," said the grunt. "She is too short to be Kojiro in disguise."

"Musashi might have given away Team Rocket's base, is what you are suggesting," said Athena.

"I am only reporting, Athena-san, ma'am" said the grunt with another bow. "I'm suggesting nothing."

Before Apollo could reply, Lambda dropped his crossed leg to the floor in a stomp, and standing up he said, "I can take care of them."

Athena glanced at Apollo, but Apollo did not return the glance as he continued to stare gravely at the one of two princes of the field agent scene. Blinking slowly, he then said to the grunt with eyes still on the proudly strutting Lambda, "Take Lambda back with you."

"_Hai_! Apollo-san, sir!" exclaimed the grunt.

But before Lambda could follow, Apollo snatched the agent by the arm and pulled him aside.

"No games, Lambda," he whispered threateningly. "I warn you."

Lambda, unaffected by the executive's warning, only tipped an imaginary hat, and with a broad grin promised that nothing would happen that would bother Apollo or Athena.

By the look on Apollo's face, it appeared that he was not at all sure, but he released his hold on Lambda and allowed his exit.

"I don't trust him," said Athena, looking to door a moment after it had closed behind Lambda.

"It's me you should be more worried about than Lambda," said Apollo lightly.

Athena turned sharply to Apollo, and though she could not be certain what he truly meant by it, she knew in at least a sense that he was right. Only she and Apollo stood like gods at the top of Team Rocket, and in many ways they stood more powerfully than Giovanni himself behind the scenes. It was Apollo and Athena who could bring Giovanni down any time if they so chose at their mighty whim, but if they were not on the same side it would be a clash of the heavens. Two colliding rockets, no! It would be two colliding stars that would end in a supernova, destroying all in its path.

"I know," said Athena with a vampire-like smile, which meant that if what Apollo said was true than it was just as true concerning herself.

**JAPANESE PHRASES**

_Hontou desuka:_ Really (formal)

_Sugoii: _Cool

_Ii wa ne: _That's (with amphasis)


	13. No Games

JMJ

CHAPTER TWELVE:

No Games

"Did it work?" asked Kojiro, squatted beside Nyaasu.

Nyaasu rubbed the magnet over the wristband ID once more. His tongue he stuck out the side of his mouth in concentration as he snatched Kojiro's arm with his free hand to bring the ID closer to his face.

"I don-nyo, nya," Nyaasu admitted.

"How can we tell?" Kojiro wanted to know.

Releasing Kojiro's hand, Nyaasu shrugged. "We can't unless we go back to Headquarters and check it."

He scratched his ear thoughtfully a moment, and after a moment a slow, conniving smile speared over his face, a look all too familiar to Kojiro who felt a tad uneasy at the cat's sudden change of mood.

"Ny-o!" exclaimed Nyaasu. "I kny-ow what! Team Rocket gave you the fancy cell phone right, nya?"

"Yeah," said Kojiro hesitantly as he took the cell carefully out of his pocket.

Swiping the phone away, Nyaasu examined it a moment and turned it on.

"So, if we can hack into the Rocket satellite, we can find out if you're on there or ny-ot, nya!"

Kojiro raised a skeptical brow. "Are you sure you can do that with a cell phone?" he asked.

Nyaasu waved a paw aside. "Kojiro, Kojiro, Kojiro, don't worry your little lavender head, nya. I can hack anything! Remember at the lab, nya? I didn't need an ID to get into that computer, nya?"

Closing his eyes, Kojiro only shook his head.

"It just might take time, nya," said Nyaasu. "And—"

"What are you doing?"

Both Kojiro and Nyaasu spun around in chilled surprise as they looked to the source of the voice, Naomi herself.

Kojiro twiddled his fingers a moment, wondering how much she had overheard. Gather a little courage, he asked timidly, "Were you … successful?"

"I asked first," said the girl.

"Calling his mama! What's it to you, nya?" Nyaasu growled and stuck out his tongue.

Kojiro winced and Naomi stared at Nyaasu, but neither graced the cat with a reply.

"So I'm guessing you weren't successful then," said Kojiro with shrug.

"I didn't say that," retorted the girl.

"If you had been successful you would have told us that you were, nya," said Nyaasu, and he smiled innocently.

"_Baka_," said the girl.

Nyaasu laughed.

"I'll show you _baka_," he warned holding a clawed paw up to swipe.

"_Iya_!" cried Kojiro and grabbed the cat back.

Flashing Kojiro a menacing expression, Nyaasu pulled out of the other's arms and with a haughty crossing of his arms and closing of his eyes, he turned away from Naomi with look of superiority.

Laughing awkwardly, Kojiro said, "Hey, now, if we can keep our secrets, she has a right to keep hers, right?"

He was speaking to Nyaasu but his eyes turned halfway through to Naomi who was not at all unaware of this mark of body language.

"Sure," said Naomi. "Whatever you say, but if you don't come with me again, I'll report you to Headquarters."

Kojiro nodded vigorously, but was halted before he could finish by a rough tug from below. He let out a small yelp, but once his ear reached level with Nyaasu's he listened quite intently to Nyaasu whispering, "We're leaving to-ny-ight, Kojiro, nya."

Wrenching away without a reply, Kojiro looked again at Naomi, and he shook a little. Not so much because he feared that she would carry out her threats, as no doubt she would, as much as feared what she represented. A strange wave of sympathy ran through him, and he remembered suddenly what Nyaasu had said about making him eat too many rare candies. He could almost hear his own words as a foreign speaker …

"_You stupid nyaasu!" he said._

"_Couldn't you hold them down!" hissed Musashi, bonking the cat on the head._

"_Nyah!"_

"_After all the trouble we went through to get those rare candies too, and they aren't cheap!" Kojiro growled, taking his turn to bring his fist down over the cat's head._

"Ita_, nya! Stoppit!" Nyaasu snarled. "Of course they're expensive. Why do you think they call it rare candies anyway, nya?!"_

"_Cuz their expensive," sniffed Musashi._

"Because they're supposed to be eaten rarely_!" snarled Nyaasu._

_Neither human looked at all impressed as they glared down at the cat from their lofty height with arms crossed staunchly over their chests._

"_Besides," said Nyaasu, calming somewhat, "it's not like you guys had to throw up, nya. Why doesn't Kojiro eat one?"_

"_Because I'm not a pokémon!" said Kojiro with triumph._

_Musashi put a thoughtful hand to her chin as she studied Kojiro carefully._

"_Well …"_

"_Well, what?" Kojiro demanded._

_A smile graced Musashi's face, a frightful smile that caused a shudder down Kojiro's spine, and he leapt backwards._

"Iya_!" cried Kojiro. "I'm not eating one."_

"_You were just saying how hungry you were," said Musashi._

"_But it's meant for pokémon!" Kojiro protested._

"_You eat pokéblocks and they're meant for pokémon, nya," Nyaasu pointed out._

"_Nyaasu!" cried Kojiro. "That's different!"_

_Musashi nodded. "Nyaasu's right, Kojiro. Now hold still and open wide. We have two left. If worse comes to worse and it doesn't make you stronger, you can throw up on the brat boy, how's that?"_

"_No! _Matte_! _Matte_! _Matte_!" cried Kojiro, throwing his arms out in front of him in panic, but neither Musashi nor Nyaasu cared what Kojiro thought about the matter …_

Kojiro blinked back to Naomi. Unsure what this memory really had to do with the present, Kojiro merely shook his head, but he could still see the brat boy as he and Musashi tried to say the motto. He still felt that sickening feeling rise up in his stomach, and he ran off after he just barely managed to squeak out his name. In the bushes out of sight, his body had disposed of the two pieces of rare candy not at all meant for human consumption.

"What?" Naomi demanded.

Angrily, Kojiro turned slowly away.

_That's it, Kojiro_, he thought. _Always thinking about yourself. That's what got you into Team Rocket in the first place._

The same as every other member of Team Rocket …

They perhaps weren't quite as openly childish as he, Musashi, and Nyaasu had been and perhaps still were at times, but they were just as much selfish brats. All of them. A bunch of big babies. Maybe even Giovanni himself! And Kojiro wished … he wished …

Kojiro sighed. He did not know what he wished, but it would be better for everyone if Team Rocket had never existed. That was when he decided more than ever that if Nyaasu succeeded hacking into the satellite or not, or if they needed to escape by some other means, he would not escape for himself. He would escape for Musashi. For Bara. He may not be the best father in the world right now, but she needed her father, and he would do his best to be worthy of being the parent of that innocent child.

#

Tiptoeing down the hall, Haruka glanced briefly behind her where Musashi and she had parted. They would meet back at the corner, Musashi had told her, but for now Musashi would go somewhere where she thought she could get information by herself, while Haruka would make her way to the kitchens and listen in on servant gossip. Musashi had told her also that the kitchens would not be hard to find, and that it was possible that she could be sent to serve Giovanni himself.

Haruka could not help but shudder at that thought. She could brave the whole of Team Rocket handily, but to face its heart and soul himself, Haruka had no desire to see even if she did have a thing or two she wanted to say to that man.

The sign for the kitchens stuck out from the hall. Only neon lights would have made it more noticeable in its big bold shiny letters on the downright gleaming sign, and Haruka smiled as she thought how simple it was to find it. She had been expecting something that would require a bit more cleverness, but she decided that Team Rocket would have no need to hide something as common as a kitchen. They did not cook up evil potions or witch brews in their kettles, after all. Team Rocket staff were probably fed fairly well at their Headquarters.

With courage regained, and Giovanni for now forgotten or at least placed in the background, she went resolutely to the door with a firm smile. She pushed the door forward, but just as she made to go inside she heard a throat clear behind her.

A leap into the air later, Haruka spun around, and she looked most curiously at the strange, lanky man behind her. Large white eyes adorned his skull though the pupils were a tad smaller than most, especially for such the dim lighting, or maybe it was that his eyes were so large it only looked as if this were the case. His poison purple hair stroked back behind a high forehead, and although carefully stylized to hide it, he showed signs of balding. The little plop of a goatee made his face appear longer than it already looked. He wore a uniform very similar to what Kosaburo and Yamato usually wore, except for the line of gold around the top of the signature "R" in the middle of his shirt and the vials at his fancy belt.

"Hello there," said the man rather cheerfully.

Haruka shook off her start and bowed respectfully, remembering her low status as a maid.

"Sir," she said.

The man laughed, and wrapping his hand around her shoulder confidentially, he pulled her unwillingly away from the doorway.

"There's no use pretending," said the man with a hand cupped before his thin lips. "You're secret's not too well hidden."

"What do you mean?" asked Haruka, trying to keep her face from being in the way of his rather unpleasant breath, and even regardless of his breath he smelled a little funny, a little like car exhaust only mixed with something rotten, though the smell was pretty faint, and it was hard to tell for certain what it truly was.

"You're a trainer," said the man with smile. "You can't hide that from me."

"Maybe I used to be a trainer but now I'm a maid," said Haruka quickly.

The man shook his head.

"No, you're a trainer alright. The way you carry yourself, the way you talk, that glint in your eyes, and just before you opened the door, I saw your hand reach for that apron pocket where I can see the little bulge of pokéballs."

His eyes fell to the pocket briefly before he looked Haruka in the face again.

"What are you going to do then?" Haruka demanded.

By now the man had released his hold, and Haruka with chills running down her spine, backed away slowly.

"Well," said the man straightening. "You wouldn't have gone in here unless you wanted something, and here's what I propose. We do this squarely." Here he held his fore fingers and thumbs together to form a square. "We have a pokémon battle, as fair as they go. No cheating. We each use the same amount of pokémon, and that's your call how many. If you win, I'll let you go free and pretend I never saw you. I may even be able to help you with information depending on if it's something I can give with a clear conscience."

"And if I lose?" asked Haruka with a brave frown.

The man shrugged. "Well, I would have thought that would've been a given. If you lose, I take your pokémon and turn you in to Team Rocket. As simple as that, standard procedure. At normal bases, I could just send you out, but knowing the location of Headquarters, now _that—_" (he held up a finger) "is very serious stuff."

"So are we gunna battle then?" demanded Haruka.

The man snorted and then grinned. "Not in the hallway. I'll take you to a proper arena. That way we can do this the best way. Unless, of course, you don't trust me."

"How can I?" Haruka pointed out. "You're a Team Rocket agent."

"Point taken, and hanging out with an agent to get here to begin with, you probably know all about Team Rocket, but you have my word on my honor as a sneak, that no harm will come to you unless you lose the battle," said the man with an easy shrug. "No games."

"No games," agreed Haruka and clenched a fist.

#

Adjusting her white jacket a little, Musashi had to admit that her uniform felt a bit tighter than she remembered it being. She had been very thin towards the end of her Team Rocket career, perhaps to the point of being unhealthy, yet she could not help but be conscious of the weight gain and feel a tad sour about it.

_Whatever! _She thought, and brushed the thought away with the sweep of her hand.

Right now she had to be focused. She knew where the grunts hung out, and she also knew perfectly well from the few times that she disguised herself as a grunt that grunts were not nearly as submissive behind closed doors as they were in front of their superiors. Oh, not that they were not loyal. They were loyal to the death, striking their breasts like ancient soldiers for their lord and master, but they did have awful big mouths when they talked alone, and if they were under influence.

She knew one grunt who she would have a lot of influence over, especially considering that he owed her. Not many people owed Musashi anything, but it had been an accident in the first place that she saved Kazuyuki's career. Not that she had ever told him that after he graciously thanked her for her "help", but she said that he owed her then, and she was now glad that she had forgotten about it until now.

Now, she knew that Kojiro would probably not approve of this tactic. She knew quite well, and as if in apology, she touched her ring finger and the slight bulge of her golden Niwa heirloom ring which Kojiro had placed upon her finger on that wedding day. The words of Kojiro saying that he really owed Kazuyuki nothing passed through her mind as if he stood right beside her, but she brushed him aside.

_Shut up! This is to save you, Kojiro! You're too good for your own good._

She headed straight for the grunt break room. Someone had to be there who could tell her Kazuyuki's whereabouts. Knocking delicately on the door, she smiled prettily and waited for an answer. A frown replaced her smile as she figured by the noise the television made, no one heard her. She knocked again, harder this time. Still no answer. Closing her eyes angrily, she threw back her leg ready to swing it at the door, and just as her leg came back the door opened.

Instead of kicking the door, her boot collided with something a bit softer, and instead of a bang she heard a sharp, "ACK!"

Musashi opened her eyes to see the grunt clutching his shin and glaring up at her angrily from under the dark brim of his cap. Blinking wide eyed and blank a few seconds, Musashi then quickly forced her pretty smile back onto her face.

"_Konnichiwa_!" said Musashi sweetly, and she laughed. "Sorry about your leg."

"Yes …" murmured the grunt, and rose back upright. "Uh, is there something you need?"

"Oh, well, as a matter of fact there is!" Musashi said. "I'm looking for Kazuyuki. He's a grunt like you, and I was wondering if you had any idea where—"

"I'm sorry, agent-san," said the grunt, "but Kazuyuki has not been back at Headquarters for six months."

"Whu—?"

"He's been involved in the Polsar war up in the Northern Region, and from what I heard …" the grunt hesitated slightly. "He's probably not even alive."

Musashi stared for a moment with eyes blanker and wider than before.

"He's not," she managed.

"_Hai_," said the grunt quite soberly.

"I'm sorry," said Musashi after a pause. "_Gomen_. I … didn't know."

Lowering her head, she felt a small pang of guilt, but she had to push it away.

There was still the honest approach, and her mind suddenly awoke to the realization that Kojiro could be in danger of being sent into this war as well! She had heard enough about it to know that Team Rocket was deeply involved with it now, and aside from the Shadow Project, which she also heard enough about too, this took up most of Team Rocket's occupation.

"Please," she said suddenly. "Please. I don't know if you would know, but have you heard anything about … my partner. Kojiro."

"Musashi!" gasped the grunt, leaping back in surprise. "You're Musashi?"

"Yes, yes, I'm Musashi!" growled Musashi unable to hold her temper back completely, and the first nearly aimed for the grunt's head.

"I'm sorry, Musashi-san," said the grunt timidly. "I don't know anything about Kojiro. Much of Team Rocket proclaimed you dead."

Musashi frowned.

"They _proclaimed_ it?"

"_Hai_!" said the grunt with a nod.

"Right …" growled Musashi.

A loud laugh echoed from somewhere in the break room as something equally as loud made a crash on the television set. Both attentions were aroused as Musashi and the grunt turned to look inside as they remembered that they were after all conducting a conversation in a hallway.

"You don't think you could tell me where I could find out where Kojiro was, do you?" asked Musashi carefully.

The grunt turned back to Musashi.

"You could access the database," said the grunt with a shrug, and he made to close the door.

"Wait!" cried Musashi, stuffing her boot in the door and almost kicking the grunt again in the process.

The grunt jumped, and Musashi smiled goofily as she swung open the door again.

"Yes?" asked the grunt uneasily.

"Could you tell me, uh …" Musashi paused, putting a finger to her cheek as she looked up at the doorway to see if perhaps she might find how to finish her query written above the door. "Could you tell me someone who might know where Kojiro is? I mean, I already tried looking on the database and couldn't find him."

Hesitating slightly before stepping up to the doorway again, the grunt replied, "Well, it's possible that the executives could tell you unless they split you up for a reason. If you're partners you should know where he is, but they might have sent him somewhere without telling you if they thought you two would not work well on a certain mission together, you know."

Without a word, Musashi leered back like an ursaring protecting her teddiursa cubs, and by the look on her face she told the intruder that if he took one step closer there would be nothing left of him to take another step again.

The grunt gulped and opened his mouth to make his apology, but before he could utter a syllable, Musashi slammed the door shut and marched away.

"Talk to the executives," she grumbled, "yeah, right! I …"

Pausing in step as well as her current train of thought, Musashi stood in the middle of the hallway as a new thought occurred to her.

What if they had separated her from Kojiro for a reason, and everyone knew it? What if no one was allowed to tell her? Was this paranoid enough?

"Maybe I should ask the executives," she muttered out loud.

Yes, that was exactly what she should do. She would not risk talking with the Boss, but Athena might listen. She had her sympathies with the agents! She would at least be honest with Musashi, and tell her if Kojiro had been sent to his doom or had been locked away somewhere or worse! It still would be risky, but Musashi was more than willing to take any risk now!

She lingered a moment and then turned once again to the grunt break room.

Maybe she should ask where Athena was too.

#

"Well, little girl!" exclaimed the mysterious Team Rocket agent. "Do approve of the arena?"

"It's good," said Haruka. "It's a little dark though."

"Team Rocket agents like working in atmosphere," admitted the agent as if he felt it a most regrettable fact, "but we can turn up the lights a little more."

A few more lights blinked on as the agent reached for a light switch by the door. It was not much of an improvement, but it would have to do.

"How many?"

Haruka turned to the agent in alarm. "What?"

"How many pokémon do you want to battle with?" asked the agent with a wide shrug.

"Uh … three," said Haruka, and she paused before adding, "one on one."

"Fair enough," said the agent with a shrug. "Standard rules apply?"

Haruka nodded.

The agent looked strangely pleased, and Haruka could not help but feel that this agent had some trick up his sleeve.

"Then let's begin," said the agent.

And with that final word, the agent sent out his first pokémon, a koffing.

Haruka could not help but smile with relief.

This would be easy. Koffing were not tough to beat. Sure there would be its explosion signature move, but that would end in the koffing being knocked out as well. She had just the pokémon for this job.

"Fennikin!" she called out.

The small, lithe fox emerged, orange and sandy-colored with very large ears and a fluffy tail.

"Wow," said the agent with a grin. "A trainer as young as you went to a region that did not even have a league or contest open to non locals yet?"

"I traded for him," said Haruka with a grin of her own. "Fennikin, fire spin!"

"Fen!" cried the pokémon and blew a swirling flame toward his opponent with a lovely grace as he leapt into the air.

"Protect!" called the agent, and the koffing was mostly unaffected by the attack.

"Hmm," said Haruka.

Something about this agent seemed more talented than most, but then he did look like he held a high position in Team Rocket. Still the battle had only begun.

"Agility!"

"Fen!" Fennikin cried back and darted around the koffing so that the opponent's pokémon could not tell where the fennikin was.

Koffing were not very bright after all, and with the speed at which the graceful creature darted about, the koffing would not know where to strike or how to avoid the fennikin's next attack. Just as she expected, the koffing merely floated stupidly in his confusion.

"Thunder!" said the agent.

The thunder attack nearly exploded for the koffing's body and the fennikin which had been trying hard to confuse his opponent by getting quite close, now proved too close to avoid the attack even as Haruka cried, "Look out, Fennikin!"

Luckily the attack had not been enough to knock out her pokémon, but still, Haruka knew she had to be careful. This koffing had to be one of the best trained koffing she had ever seen (not that she had seen many in talented trainers' hands), but she would not let this Rocketer win. Her pokémon depended on her, not to mention the possibility of her own life.

Like the Team Rocket agent had said himself. This was no time for games.


	14. Weaned on Rocket Fuel

JMJ

CHAPTER THIRTEEN:

Weaned on Rocket Fuel

The grunt from the break room had told her that the executives had been eating their lunch in this room, but whether they still lingered there now at quarter to two proved doubtful. Then again, they might have had a late lunch.

With fingers twiddling at her sides, Musashi hesitated, now unsure whether she really wanted to talk with Athena or not. She closed her eyes and exhaled deeply.

_Standing here isn't going to solve anything_, she thought angrily.

Thus tightening her fist and biting her lip, she wrapped against the door.

A pause.

Then after a moment, someone asked, "Who is it?"

It had to be Apollo.

"Musashi," said Musashi a little awkwardly.

Another pause, longer this time.

"I wanna talk to Athena," Musashi explained. "Is she … there?"

"Yes, I'm here, come in," said a deep but very feminine voice.

Unable to stand anymore suspense, Musashi threw open the door and stepped boldly inside.

Bringing a mug of coffee to her lips, Athena with one leg crossed over the other and eyes serenely closed, sat under the light of the window leading into an enclosed garden, the same garden which the Boss overlooked from his office window. From this view one could only see barely past a statue relating to Team Rocket domination of the world and a few hedges. In the shadow a ways, at Athena's table, sat Apollo, looking complacently from his chair with nothing in front of him. He merely stared lightly at Musashi as if he were looking idly at a pidgey that had landed in the garden.

After setting her cup onto the table, Athena's eyes opened to reveal a pair of very deep, penetrating orbs nearly pure red in the sunlight that reflected off the mahogany table into her usual roan brown eyes.

"I have work to attend to," said Apollo slowly turning to Athena. "The Boss has summoned me for two thirty."

Something in his tone sounded like he spoke some sort of code not meant for Musashi to understand, but as she stood quite still and calm with hands thrown behind her back, she managed patience for the male executive to take his leave. He did not even wait before Athena nodded in understanding before Apollo stood up from his chair. After a last careless glance to Musashi, he slipped past her, and Musashi followed him with her gaze out of the corner of her eye.

Apollo paused, but not for Musashi. He glanced behind at Athena, who staring knowingly in return, seemed to say something telepathically to her partner. The door then closed and the footsteps echoed away.

"Musashi …"

Musashi turned with a start back to the commanding woman. Her eyes looked even redder than before, and perhaps the sunlight reflected off of her rich roan hair rather than the table. A glint about those eyes made Musashi feel a tad uncomfortable, but Musashi remained outwardly pleasant enough, grinning goofily a moment and then fumbling for a chair across from Athena.

Athena quickly shook her head, stopping Musashi in mid motion as she began to sit herself down. Bolting upright again, Musashi nodded like a fearful child unsure of the reason for being sent to the principal's office as she again wrapped her arms around her back and straightened herself.

"Let's walk out into the garden." A queer smile crossed Athena's face, and she uncurled her fingers with a fluidly majestic motion toward the window.

"Uh …" Musashi began. "Isn't that the Boss' _private_ garden?"

"Technically," said Athena, her smile becoming somewhat wicked, not that Musashi did not know wicked, but the power this woman possessed was stronger than Musashi remembered it to be, "but the executives had free range of this side of the garden if we do not go past the stone wall."

Like one in a trance, Musashi followed the long ruby nails pointed to the low, vine-covered wall and the trees growing on the other side of it.

Then Athena walked further into the room which revealed a small, but quite solid door, which when pushed even caused a slight suction sound.

Musashi with a shrug followed Athena outside.

The brightness of the sun blinded Musashi a moment after the atmospheric darkness of the building, but her eyes soon adjusted onto the early summer surroundings, quite as much a contrast from the scene behind the door she had just exited as the amount of light between the garden and that dark room.

"So Musashi," said Athena, beginning to walk. She did not even motion for Musashi to follow, but Musashi quickly took the liberty nonetheless. "It's been some time since you've been to Headquarters."

"Yes, I know," Musashi grumbled. "Everyone thinks I'm dead, I know."

"Well, no, not everyone since your partner returned."

Musashi's heart leapt.

"Kojiro!" Musashi gasped. "You know where he is?"

"Well, somewhat," Athena replied lightly.

"_Onegai shimasu_, Athena-san, please tell me!"

Closing her eyes, Athena said nothing for a moment or two as Musashi nearly pulled the hair out of her head in her exasperation.

"He said you did not want to be a member anymore," said Athena. "Non-members don't have access to any information concerning Team Rocket or its agents."

"Oh, no you don't!" snapped Musashi. "Don't you play that game with me too! Who _cares_ what Kojiro said! He's … he's … Well! He's _Kojiro_!"

"True," said Athena. "But as far as games go, what about _your_ games?"

"_My_ games?" Musashi demanded.

"All you and your partner do is play your silly games, chasing after phantoms and wild geese alike." She looked up at a tree for a moment, but when Musashi followed her gaze, she only saw the leaves shuffling in the breeze. She then turned back to Athena as the older woman went on, "And sneaking into Team Rocket business in which you are not invited when you would be forced to go on only the best missions had you kept up your potential and not allowed pride to get you trapped in a plight with a stupid, insignificant pikachu."

Musashi glowered. "He was a pretty strong pika—

"We'd looked to you with such promise," said Athena, now turning to Musashi and looking her in the face with compassion of an aunt but the intensity of a viper. "When I helped you and your little friend join Team Rocket, I had expected so much more from you, Musashi."

Although a bit taller than Athena, Musashi felt the size of a caterpie in comparison to this woman, anger rising further inside Musashi or not.

"The daughter of Miyamoto, the finest agent under Madam Boss, when the Rockets were run under that strong but graceful feminine hand. She had finished lifting Team Rocket out of its rut that her husband had been in the process of doing, fixing a mess that his grandfather had created and his father had done little to fix. It was Madam Boss who thought that partners should be the best of male and female combinations. Everyone was forced to go male and female when she was in charge. Whatever the male misses the female makes up for, like a marriage. She even called it a marriage on occasion. A marriage for the glory of Team Rocket like a Christian marriage is for the glory of God or a worldly marriage is for the better of society. Sometimes I think that Team Rocket would be better off in female hands again, don't you agree, Musashi?"

"Uh …" Musashi felt a sickening feeling begin to fester in her stomach, but she grinned as she spoke again. "That's not for me to say, is it?"

Athena closed her eyes a moment, and when she opened them, she brushed a loose strange of hair that had escaped Musashi's usually quite tight hair, but in her excitement lately, she really had not had all the time she usually had to make her hair up nicely.

"You're right," said Athena. "That's good of you. Loyal. Not that loyalty has counted for much lately. Not like under Madam Boss, but you're right." She smiled warmly now, almost kindly upon Musashi. "You're mother and I …" she shook her head. "Only Miyamoto had no partner. Her partner abandoned her out of terror. He was a coward. She never had a new partner until she had a one night partner to have you."

Suddenly Musashi realized how hard she was grinding her teeth, and immediately she placed her tongue in between them and closed her lips in front of them. Her eyes still blazed angrily though, and her mind still opened up doors to a past she would rather not think about the more Athena spoke.

"_Be brave, Musashi," said a voice from long ago heard with the ears of a child so small and ignorant. "Be brave."_

_Tears swam in the eyes of the little girl as she stared up at her beautiful mother so tall and strong and proud, though tears now touched the corners of her eyes as well before she turned to leave._

_She remembered what her mother had said. Mother had a job to do. Mother also could not afford to keep her when she tried to raise her on her own. They had lived in a shack, had hardly anything to eat. Her mother had resorted to putting soy sauce on snow that last winter. No. Musashi would be safer in the hands of these people, and Team Rocket was not as wealthy as it would be under Giovanni. Her mother could not be paid enough to live long with her daughter._

_But Musashi did not care. She would rather spend the rest of her life starving with her mother than living well with strangers._

"_Okaasan …" Musashi whispered, but the door closed behind the woman._

_The strangers came to comfort her, and Musashi buried her head into those arms, pretending they were the arms of her mother …_

_Holding a little baby of her own, she kissed her tiny head, and the baby made a little sound of joy as she smiled back at her._

_Musashi could not help but laugh, but a sudden moment of seriousness came over her as she whispered over the child's head, "My baby will never have to experience—"_

A fish-gaping mouth clamped tightly back up into a cringe, and Musashi squeezed her eyes shut. She would not let that last thought finish.

"Athena!" she cried, nearly jumping the on the woman.

In a half-crazed crazed, she grabbed the scruff of Athena's dress.

"Musashi," returned Athena.

Musashi let the material drop. She even neatened it back into place and smoothed out the wrinkles, but Athena brushed her hands aside before she could do too much.

"I need to find Kojiro," said Musashi more seriously than she thought she had ever spoken anything else in the whole world.

"I don't know where he is," said Athena.

"You're lying!" Musashi growled.

"_Hai_! It's a lie to some extent," snapped Athena in return, "but you give me no reason to be honest with you. It would be better for you if you left now and forgot about it. Believe me. It would be better for you, but if it makes you feel any better, I'll do all in my power to prevent Kojiro from being banished for your sake."

"No! It doesn't!" snapped Musashi. "How do I know Kojiro isn't already banished!? Or already dead! I hate you! All of you! Every last one of you!"

It was only after she said this that Musashi realized that Kosaburo had said that almost exact same thing before releasing his pokémon to attack her. Her anger froze a moment. Thought of saying something close to Kosaburo's words made her shudder. She felt that it meant something, but she could not for the life of her know what that could be.

With eyes still wide from the realization, she stared at Athena as tears began to form. Musashi tried to keep them from coming but the lump in her throat already choked her.

"I'm warning you, Musashi," said Athena. "This is a favor I won't give twice. Who is that girl you brought with you?"

"I …" Musashi's voice faltered, and all tears vanished. She gulped and stepped back fearfully.

"Exactly," said Athena. "Now get out, and take her with you, and if you are ever seen at Headquarters again—"

#

The battle was near over now, but it was tighter than Haruka ever encountered with a Team Rocket agent. He fought well and had knocked out Fennikin rather easily with his koffing using the attack known simply as return. It proved strangely strong for usually the attack only worked well when a pokémon and its trainer were especially in tune. One would have thought a Team Rocket agent would not have such a bond, especially one as highly positioned as this man seemed to be.

Haruka sent out Raichu next, a pokémon she was rather proud of recently for having raised him from a pichu all the way up to his highest form which he had gained only a few weeks ago. She had beaten the koffing with her Raichu. The koffing, the opponent then replaced with a golbat. In a fierce battle of wits, Raichu, after much struggle, beat the golbat.

This was like a gym battle or fighting portion of a contest! Only what she would win would mean far more than a mere badge or ribbon.

The agent then sent out another koffing, female this time. Her sludge attack proved quite deadly, and Raichu became severely poisoned as a result. It was the venochock, however that truly sent him back to the pokéball.

Now Haruka had only one pokémon left in this three pokémon battle, which was to be fought fairly and with true battle rules, all of which the agent had abided by. He seemed to be enjoying himself, and that still kept Haruka on edge. Maybe he wanted that. She had to think about this now. She thought first of sending out Glaceon, but as strong as she was, Haruka thought of a better plan.

Nearly as strong as Glaceon, she had her venasaur, which being part poison would not be nearly as affected by Koffing's attacks, but half poison meant half of Venasaur's attacks would do little to Koffing. Haruka might have a chance with using Venasuar's bulk.

"Venasaur!" she cried, throwing the ball out onto the arena.

If she lost this, then she would not only lose the chance to find out where her father was she would lose everything else.

The grin on the agent's face proved now uncanny. Haruka did not know a grin could stretch so wide and so wily as his could, especially on such a long, gaunt face as his. She immediately called for a body slam, which the koffing quickly dodged. She could use solar beam. Aside from this and body slam her other two attacks were poison related and would thus be insufficient to beat the koffing.

"Solar beam!" cried Haruka.

"Protect!" was the combated reply.

The solar beam proved strong, but with the protection up, Koffing was not nearly as damaged as she would have been by the attack. Haruka would try body slam again.

This went on, for some time. Koffing mostly using protect, and only once tried a sludge attack, which although did some damage, it did not poison the other pokémon. That was when it occurred to She knew this koffing had sludge attack and venoshock (not terribly strong normally if the opponent is not already poisoned). These two normally were used against opponents with this pokémon, no doubt. Therefore after having protect, the other attack would probably be either not very strong or something poison that would not work in this battle. It had to be because the koffing was looking pretty worn out now, and she knew that any attack Venasaur actually hit Koffing with now would probably knock her out. Even on as high a level as she was, Venasuar would have had a one hit knock out with body slam or solar beam if she did not have the protect. Koffing were not known for having strong defense without a special attack like that.

If she just waited patiently, eventually Koffing would be unable to dodge, and somehow Haruka had a feeling that the agent knew this too despite his wild grin.

She was right. One final body slam at the right moment and Koffing collapsed before the agent could call for protect, and the koffing returned to her pokéball.

"_Yatta_!" cried Haruka unable to contain her joy.

Venasaur gave a cry of agreement even if she did not understand the true significance of this battle, but the pleasure of her master was well worth the tedious battle as the girl hugged the pokémon's head tightly and kissed her.

"Oh, good job, Venasaur! You did so well!"

Venasaur nudged her little master affectionately, and Haruka rewarded her with a treat before she kissed her again. Then lifting her head, she saw standing across the arena the agent.

"And I'm a coordinator, not a trainer," said Haruka, feeling that she deserved to say this, but her feeling of victory proved short lived.

A surge of suspicion went through her.

What would he do now?

Would he keep his promise?

Was this all a trap?

The agent looked rather pleased despite his loss. Once having neatly returned the pokéball to his belt, he returned his gaze to Haruka and smiled with a gentlemanly nod.

"Well played, coordinator!" cried the agent as he walked across the arena toward her. "You win. You're free to go."

"And the information?" Haruka pressed as she returned her venasaur.

"Naturally!" exclaimed the agent. "Not gunna guarantee anything I give you will be all too useful though. That's just a warning."

"I understand," said Haruka with a nod, and she paused before saying, "I'm looking for a … for two people."

"Yes," said the agent.

"First I'm looking for the gym leader named Senri," said Haruka as sternly as she could.

The agent looked thoughtful a moment, placing a finger to his temple.

"Don't you know what I'm talking about?" asked Haruka.

"Oh, I know," said the man simply, strangely quite honest and candid in his demeanor now. It was as if he had become humble as being the loser of the match. He shrugged then. "I was just trying to decide whether telling you was against more moral standing and whether or not the information would really do you any good. He was kidnapped."

"Yes, I know that," said Haruka, crossing her arms impatiently. "But tell me what you _know_! If you know _anything_ it would help me! Even a hint!"

The agent laughed, a little sadly, Haruka thought.

"He was sent to the Orre Region," he said.

"The Orre Region!" gasped Haruka. "But why?"

The agent shrugged rather apologetically. "I had nothing to do with his capture. I was away at the time, but I may have been what caused his suspicion in the first place. I was acting a little careless in Hoenn."

A flame of anger ignited in Haruka's heart. She had almost forgotten that this man worked for Team Rocket, he was being so polite and courtly. She scolded herself for forgetting that Team Rocket was as evil as she knew it to be at the core. Suspicion flared to full height as she stepped back and shuddered.

"What does that mean?" asked Haruka. "What did my — eh, Senri know? Something about the Shadow Project?"

"Told you it might not be all too useful, but there's your answer," said the agent again looking most apologetic. "The age of the Shadow Agent will spawn in Orre." He smiled again as he saw almost brightly, "And the second person?"

"What?" asked Haruka, and then she remembered Musashi and her partner. "Uh … the agent. Kojiro."

The agent smiled. "Kojiro?" he exclaimed, lifting a knowing finger. "Okay! That would explain Musashi's presence."

"Well?"

"I liked Kojiro," said the agent as if this conversation was a pleasant garden party, and they had all the time in the world. "He amused me so much I gave him one of my koffing to use as his first pokémon. Only his partner had one at first." He shrugged. "I get sentimental, I guess. Maybe that's why they cut me from the pre agent program thing — ah, the little ones weaned on Rocket fuel … I taught sometimes there about disguises and acting well. He wasn't the top student or anything, but I loved his energy and quirk. I think he reminded me of me in a way."

"Yeah, that's … nice," said Haruka without knowing what else to say. She blinked stupidly for a few seconds and then shook her head. "But where _is_ he?"

"Gone."

"What do you mean?" Haruka asked.

But before the agent could explain, a piercing sound struck the air. Loud rhythmic whines echoed from seemingly the walls themselves.

"Agh! The siren went off," grumbled the agent, leaning his back against the side of a nearby bleacher.

"It wasn't me, was it?" demanded Haruka.

"Nah, someone else. Maybe Musashi or something," said the agent.

"Well, no one else came with us," said Haruka, squinting from the noise.

"You might wanna go," said the agent with a shrug. "Sorry I wasn't more helpful."

"But—!"

"If you wanna find your dad, you're gunna have to be quick," said the agent quite dangerously so that even if the words themselves were not enough to send chills down Haruka's spine, the voice would have caused a shudder either way. "Kojiro can take care of himself. He's an agent. Musashi will find him. Just get out of here!"

Haruka gulped. She darted for the door, but she did not exit before she heard the agent on his communicator and the voice that replied, "The intruder has just sabotaged one of our smaller labs, Lambda-san. A trainer about ten-ish, blue-black hair, glasses …"

Oh, no, it couldn't be!

Haruka slapped her forehead, and groaned.

No.

"Someone you know?" asked the agent lightly.

Her answer before she darted down the hall was too soft for the agent to hear, and it was more a question to herself than an answer to anyone around her.

"Masato?"


	15. Kosaburo and Yamato

JMJ

CHAPTER FOURTEEN:

Kosaburo and Yamato

The fire burned; though, the worst of it subsided now. With the keva now safely in the great ball again, Kosaburo felt all the worries of the past few weeks finally floating away with the smoke of the stupid shack of a house that belonged to those stupid agents. When he and his partner had seen the keva on the roof of that shack, a final plan came to him, more out of exasperation than anything formed in Kosaburo's mind. They would burn the place down and catch the keva in her preoccupation with the flames. Now as he continued to stare into the red hot coals, he knew that he had not expected the plan to succeed at least as well as it had, but the feeling of triumph more than smothered the doubt.

He killed two birds with one stone, so to speak. Gotten revenge on hot head, her puppy dog and kitty cat, and he caught the keva, which he could now bring safely to Namba's Shadow Base. Nothing could stop him now, and Kojiro and Musashi were nowhere in sight.

"Oh, aren't you the best ratticate in the world? Yes, you are!"

"_Rrraaaaahhhh_!"

Blinking out of the flames, Kosaburo turned sharply to Yamato with a shake of his head as he watched her feed her pokémon with a pokéblock. His eyes closed and he stared back into the flames.

"What?" demanded Yamato. "We wouldn't have been able to beat the keva without him."

They could have beaten the keva with tangella and skarmory just fine. Even houndour and hitmontop would have been enough at that point. The keva's wings had caught on fire when Ratticate had attacked with his hyperfang.

"It doesn't matter," he said with a shrug, and he smiled with eyes deep in the coals. "We got the keva."

"Let's get out of here," said Yamato.

Kosaburo agreed, and they marched in triumph to the vehicle before they drove away, Ratticate still out of his pokéball and riding happily between them, but Kosaburo was too happy to be annoyed.

"Finally," he said as though in ecstasy, and he almost lost sight of the road in his reveling of this momentous event. "We got the crazy thing."

"_Hai_! And just think! With the keva, we have every pokémon on our list!" squealed Yamato, and she leaned back with her arms behind her head.

"Ra, ra!" cried Ratticate, even though he really did not understand exactly what excited his master and her partner so much.

"We'll have it easy for a while," said Kosaburo with satisfaction.

Yamato closed her eyes and smiled. "We'll just oversee the rest of the shadow project with Dr. Namba."

"It was just a matter of time!"

"Oh, I knew that," said Yamato, her smile turning into a smug sneer as she lifted one of her tranquil eyes to him. "That's what makes us top agents. We're one of the Boss' favorites. He told us so himself."

"He doesn't have to tell us," sniffed Kosaburo. "We _are_ one of the few field agents invited to the Boss' special New Years' party every year."

Yamato could not help but laugh. "I don't think Kojiro and Musashi were ever invited to any party after that crap with that boy and his pikachu."

Kosaburo now laughed as well, something he had not done in a long while, and it felt great.

"Those idiots!"

"Pfft, and the best they can come up with to show us up is sending us dumb Kosanji merchandise anonymously with blue and red ink that only those two idiots and their—"

"Yamato!" growled Kosaburo.

Yamato straightened. "_Nani_?" she demanded.

"Ra?" asked Ratticate.

"You promised never to speak of that," Kosaburo snapped.

Yamato rolled her eyes. "Fine. But still, they never could show us up by proving they were better agents."

Good humor returned to Kosaburo, and with a snide grin, he said, "That's cuz they can't, especially now."

Yamato nodded. "Especially now."

Kosaburo knew, and he had a feeling Yamato knew it too, that Musashi and Kojiro were not even agents anymore.

#

"It's about time," sniffed Namba disdainfully as Kosaburo and Yamato reported their progress over a vid phone across from the lab. "You're progress lately seems to be slipping, especially since your success in the Sinnoh Region with the hippowdon."

"Well, we succeeded now too," said Yamato. "We just had a couple setbacks."

"We'll see," said Namba darkly. "But if you recall your last mission was a complete failure in the Unova Project."

"But the whole project failed!" Yamato protested. "You can't blame the whole thing on—"

Suddenly Kosaburo pushed in front of his partner.

"Hey!"

"We won't fail again!" snapped Kosaburo with hands slammed over the front of the vid-phone's keyboard desk. "I promise you, Dr. Namba!"

With a heavy sigh, Namba shook his head, and after closing his eyes with an expression that might be given to a very silly, overreacting child, he opened his eyes again and said, "See that you don't." The tone of the voice would have caused any child to cry, but it only annoyed Kosaburo who nodded gravely, not trusting his voice just now to speak civilly enough to their immediate superior.

The screen went black.

"I _hate_ that old gremlin," grumbled Kosaburo.

Yamato raised a brow, and after a pause took a step closer to Kosaburo.

"So he was a never an agent," said Yamato with a shrug. "It's what superiors do. Give their subordinates a hard time. It's their job." She paused thoughtfully a moment. "Not that I like him or anything but 'hate''s a bit too strong, I think. He's not worth it."

_He looks kind of like a gremlin of maybe a troll like one of those stupid plastic toys, _thought Kosaburo. _The orange hair, the pointed ears, creepy black beady eyes, the short, stocky build, and well, maybe he doesn't have that doofy smile, but still …_

Kosaburo lifted his head and stared at her careless face, her hands held lightly at her hips, her stance unconcerned, and unforced confidence possessed her whole frame.

She was right, Kosaburo knew, looking her again in the eyes.

Anyway! They got the keva. They would not have to worry about a new failure for some time, especially since no annoying brats had shown up. Just those fools Kojiro and Musashi even knew what they were up to, and they hardly would hardly be a threat, not even as a distraction since they did not have the busybody rug rat and his pikachu nearby to catch a dutiful agent off guard during an argument of superiority with wannabes.

"After all," said Yamato, "Besides our, eh …setbacks in Project R—"

"Blandly named," mocked Kosaburo with a roll of his eyes and a queer smile.

"Well, yeah, no argument," said Yamato and continued, "most things (aside from Unova) have gone pretty well for us. Even the failure with the fake one-day pokémon competition in Sable City was at least _half_ successful. We still managed to get a lot of pokémon for old Namba's experiments."

"True," said Kosaburo with a shrug.

Still one could not help the slightest suspicion that some little twit may be lurking around somewhere planning their next move with their obsessive training to back up their inane little plots.

"I'm gunna have lunch," said Kosaburo suddenly.

"Mind if I join you?" Yamato asked.

Kosaburo smiled. "Go ahead."

Thus making their way to the only real comfortable room in the whole hideout (even the dormitories felt little more than prison cells), Kosaburo and Yamato took lunch in a well lit hall set with cushioned armchairs and some cold but still fashionable décor. A restaurant would have suited Kosaburo better, but he had no mind to leave the base unattended until the keva had been shadowized good and well. He had made the mistake of leaving post before for luxurious detours and regretted it. In severe determination, Kosaburo promised himself he would not make the same mistake again.

Thus with a plate full of relatively simple but not terrible cuisine from the hideout's meager kitchen, he ate rather happily with his partner, forgetting any past concern for the present. As usual Yamato did most of the talking, but he did not mind at all. Girls talked too much anyway, and he had no desire to take over conversation.

She talked idly about some past experience in training when she used to rival against Musashi in everything. At least half of what she said were lies, especially when she went on to say that she beat Musashi at everything, which even he had to admit could not truly be the case, not that he had seen much of Musashi, much less know anything about her, before he had been partnered with Yamato and had been a real agent for a while. He encouraged her anyway, insulting Musashi when he felt the need and insulting Kojiro a couple times in between.

Feeling rather pleased with himself, he ate two and half platefuls of food, and relaxed comfortable in his armchair before the little coffee table as he finished off everything with a final cup of tea. Head leaned back and eyes not focused on anything in particular while he thought how nice of a break this was not having to live in that stupid, smelly farmhouse as when they were disguised as farmers, or in the jeep on those night when they had ended up in the middle of nowhere.

Yamato had long since finished talking about Musashi and now spoke on about some party and some agent that she knew far better than he did. So he did not happen to be as sociable as Yamato. He liked watching things from the background and choosing not to get involved in the field agent circle of gossip when he did not feel like it. All he knew was that that girl's partner Gakuto had been pretty stuck up about being one of the only successful agents in Unova.

_Chumps_, he thought lightly, and he smiled. _We're far more successful in the long run._

They just caught a rare pokémon and stood in command of an entire base, now the most active base in Kanto after Headquarters itself! The Boss, _the_ Boss, had called them to congratulate them on their good work. They were getting a bonus, and Kosaburo already starting planning a vacation to the Orange Islands all by himself. He deserved and needed a vacation after what he had gone through recently.

One arm he threw behind his head, and lifting a still hot cup to his he lips he took a most satisfying sip of tea. Already he tasted the ice cold Monaco instead of his hot drink, and he might as well already be lying by the sea, the sound of waves at his feet on that remote beach, a servant nearby to tend to his every whim and not a stupid pokémon aside from the occasional bird as far as the eye can see. He almost did not notice the grunt suddenly bursting into the room.

"Yamato-san! Kosanji-san!"

If it had not been for that!

It was too late to stop the tea from going down the wrong pipe, and slamming his cup onto the table so that tea splashed all around it, Kosaburo coughed and gagged for the liquid to go down its proper way. That did not stop him from leaping to his feet meanwhile, and as soon as his throat had been cleared enough to open his mouth, he growled, "Kosa_buro_!" And he coughed all over again.

"What?" demanded Yamato of the grunt, once she had recovered from watching her partner lose it yet again over that name thing.

"We need you quick!" cried the grunt, waving his arms and panting heavily, indicating that he must have run down here with all the might he possessed. "The keva's out of its containment and—"

"The keva!" cried Yamato in a sudden panic.

"Whaddya mean out of its containment!?" snarled Kosaburo, a hand still on his throat, and he stuck his tongue out in momentary exhaustion. "How did it get out!?"

The grunt opened his mouth to speak, but before he could answer, Kosaburo pushed past the grunt.

"Never mind!" Kosaburo growled. "I'll find out later!"

And without another moment lost, Kosaburo and Yamato raced out of the room; though, not before Yamato gave the grunt a rough shove.

"Which way did it go?" Yamato demanded, throwing her head back in the grunt's direction.

Adjusting his cap and keeping his distance, the grunt followed out of the room and pointed down the way he had come from.

"They're trying to stop it with Mighteyana now," he told them; though, they hardly heard the grunt as they raced down toward the lab.

They did not have to go far to hear the commotion inside, and they had hardly reached two yards from the doors when the whole frame around it suddenly broke with the deafening cry of the keva in a hyperbeam attack. Rubble crashed all about them, and the agents leapt back and cover themselves with arms before looking up to the gaping hole.

"Oh, no you don't!" screamed Yamato, and threw a pokéball with all her might against the ground. "Skarmory! Shadow rush!"

"Skraahhhhhhhhh!" croaked the furious skarmory.

The moment the keva poked its head around its new hole, the still unshadowed pokémon gave a little squeak and darted back into the lab. Shadow rush still ensued. The purple-blue wave washed down the hall and seared off some more of the wall where the doors to the lab used to be.

Now Kosaburo had Tangella out as well, and with Kosaburo and Yamato guarding the opening and the scientists with their mighteyana inside, the keva could not hope to escape.

The mighteyana was ordered to use bite. He had no shadow attacks. They needed at least one pokémon not shadowized on base at all times, because shadow attacks did very little to shadow pokémon if something went wrong, and he was strong enough as pokémon went against most rogue pokémon (such as the keva) who managed to get loose before the shadow process.

The keva dodged the wolfish pokémon skillfully, but landed rather clumsily over a counter with many vials and small glass tube. All of these came crashing to the floor noisily.

"Alright! Stand back!" Yamato told the scientists, most of which were already quite out of the way and even out of the lab. "And have the mighteyana stand down a moment. We'll handle this!"

"_Hai_!" said the mighteyana's handler.

"Tangella, shadow vine!" said Kosaburo.

"Skarmory, shadow claw!" cried Yamato.

The keva scrambled to her feet in alarm. She looked from one shadow pokémon to the other, and she cocked her head to the agents. Panic froze her to her spot, but there was a strange look of concentration that if anyone had been looking carefully it might have made them pause to think about this situation. None prepared for what happened next.

In a bright flash of light, Kosaburo and Yamato just barely managed to duck behind a heavy desk before the keva simply exploded. Skarmory and Tangella were knocked completely unconscious not to mention buried in mounds of science equipment, and the explosion was fierce. The whole world seemed to shake from the hiding place behind the desk, and the desk itself toppled over almost crushing the agents.

Then all was still.

With eyes squeezed shut, Yamato and Kosaburo still hunkered behind the fallen desk, but someone from the hall cried suddenly, "It escaped!"

First to lift her head, Yamato let out a low growl at what she saw, and Kosaburo with a groan, more from exasperation then pain, lifted his own head, and his eyes narrowed quickly on the hole that the keva had made in the ceiling.

"_NANI_?!" he snarled.

"The pokémon used explosion!" cried a scientist.

"It couldn't have used explosion," said another. "It would have been knocked cold too!"

"Maybe that's why Dr. Namba wanted it," said yet another.

"He would have told us if that were the case!" pointed out the second one.

"You don't know that for certain," said a forth jumping in.

The agents stared at each other in disbelief.

The keva had just escaped from their midst, and all those lousy scientists could do was argue about what attack it used?

"The keva! You idiots!" screamed Yamato leaping to her feet.

She looked to the skarmory, swirls dancing in his eyes, and she groaned.

"It's too late, Yamato," said Kosaburo darkly. "The keva escaped. We have to go looking for it all over again."

"I still have Ratticate."

"We should just have Skarmory and Tangella healed," grumbled Kosaburo.

"We should have Houndour and Hitmontop sent over from Headquarters. Maybe even Granbull."

Kosaburo closed his eyes for a moment, rage flexing, and as he spun around, he growled, "That would take just as long now with the lab _DESTROYED_!"

He flung his arms outward toward the demolished surroundings with hardly a roof, and all electricity down. The pokéball transporters, although there was another one down the hall, would not be working without electricity, and the one in here was certainly not going to work. Everything was completely leveled here. Sizzling sparks erupted from crashed computers. A small fire was breaking out in one corner, and some of the pokémon in half shadowed states were waking up from their artificial slumbered in their broken tubes. They were completely dysfunctional but weak and sleepy even as they tried to attack. The scientists were tending to the fire and the pokémon all the while, and Kosaburo suddenly returning to his partner as he heard one scientist say in the haughty attitude of Team Rocket scientists, "Someone should call Dr. Namba."

"You think?" Yamato demanded.

Shoulders slumped, the full awareness of the situation stuck Kosaburo. As overseers of the lab, no matter how much he wanted to blame the scientists, Yamato and Kosaburo would take responsibility for this fiasco. He could already see his bonus and his precious vacation blowing away on a strong sea breeze.

With a heavy groan, Kosaburo dropped his head miserably.

#

"Those idiots!" cried Namba, shutting his communicator down so hard he might have broken it. "Those complete, incompetent idiots! I knew I couldn't trust them alone at that base! The Boss already told me it would be my head if anything like that should happen again!"

"Events move along fast these days," admitted his companion, completely unconcerned.

"Hmph!?" snorted Namba.

"Headquarters itself was infiltrated just yesterday by Musashi, of all people, and two pokémon trainers," said his companion. "Just before I arrived too." And he laughed quietly, but that laugh could chill to the bone. "The place was in chaos, and as usual the trainers got a way, and there's been no sign of Musashi from what I understand."

In the darkened room the companion's face could not be seen, but even that did not really intimidate Namba who was used to his companion's eerie ambience. All Namba could do was grumble under his breath again about the idiocy of Kosaburo and Yamato.

"Field agents aren't what they used to be," agreed the companion still almost unnaturally composed, his voice as soft as silk and as comforting as the whistling wind in a graveyard. "Oh, Namba, calm yourself. _Suwatte kudasai_."

Namba shook a little, with anger not at all with fear, and he plopped down into his chair. Eyes narrowed upon his companion lost in shadow.

"My dear, Dr. Namba, what have we just been talking about all this time?" asked the companion.

Namba lifted a shaggy brow curiously.

"The Shadow Project," said the companion. "Perhaps your field agents have outlived their usefulness as so many other agents have these days. They're what? Twenty-five, twenty-six? They should be in top form now. Yet, even if they're lacking in competence, their age, their good health and their physical stamina would be prime for work in the Orre Region."

"The Orre Region," Namba repeated. "I don't think the Boss would necessarily approve of that seeing as they are considered top agents."

"Sad," said his companion.

"Hmph."

"Not like Athena and Apollo used to be when they were field agents," said the companion.

A hint of dark humor hid behind the calm, smooth tone.

"Hmph," said Namba again, "not even close, but what does the Boss have to say about this, Dr. Shiranui?"

"Oh, I'm sure he'll approve," said his companion with a queer smile as he lifted his face from the shadows; the light from the dim ceiling lamp glinting stereotypically anime over his glasses. "If they're going to let pokémon escape and destroy laboratories causing Team Rocket loss of money and time that it really cannot afford, then they might deserve liquidation." He paused with eyes lifted to the dim bulb above his head before he continued, "Besides, Namba. Think of this. You can come to the Orre Region with me. The experimentation is nearly completed to a satisfactory level. It's time to put the final phases of the Team Rocket's Shadow Project into action."

His voice was hypnotic, like the music played for the cobra. It swayed in a calm rhythmic manner with firm purpose and poise. Although pride was strong in the voice it was not boatful and haughty like most members of Team Rocket. His pride was of matter-of-fact nature. He had nothing to prove. He was what he was. And one did not have to be a genius to understand the need for any mad scientist to play God, and Dr. Shiranui took the term "mad science" to a level of his own that sometimes made even Dr. Namba a little wary of him. He may as well be a god himself.

A wolfish grin now stretched out on Namba's cold face, a little like a gremlin or a troll as Kosaburo had suggested, or perhaps a ghoul as he bowed his head in gratitude before the top overseer of the Shadow Project, the god of mad science incarnate.

Reaching for his communicator, Namba rang up Kosaburo and Yamato to tell them the wonderful news …


	16. Kosaburo and Yamato (Continued)

JMJ

CHAPTER FIFTEEN:

Kosaburo and Yamato (Continued)

"The Orre Region," Kosaburo growled under his breath as he stepped out of the helicopter and onto the meager platform.

"I knew Namba'd be mad," Yamato said, "but this is just too much. There must be some mistake."

She turned to the pilot one last time, but the pilot only shrugged before shutting the door. There was nothing he could do about it, but he probably did not even hear her anyway over the roar of the propellers.

"Only scientists and lame agents are sent to the Orre Region," Yamato went on regardless just loud enough for Kosaburo to hear, "Kojiro and Musashi belong here, not us! We're top agents!"

The propellers started up full blast, blowing sand and dust about the pair as they watched in silent sulkiness their ride vanish over the great sand dunes back toward the sea and to civilization in the Kanto Region. After the helicopter no longer could be seen, the agents continued to stare up at the blue and the faintly pink sky of early evening.

With a pout and a puckered brown, Yamato closed her eyes.

"It's not fair," she said kicking sand from the platform. "It wasn't our fault the keva got away! It was those scientists! How come _they_ never get punished for these things?"

"Stop complaining," Kosaburo said. "It's orders, and orders are to work in the Orre Region. If we do our job well here we'll gain our place back in the Boss' good graces. You said so yourself that that's what superiors do, give subordinates a hard time."

"Ug, I hate being right," said Yamato, slumping forward with her head down to the sand between her boots.

Motioning forward with his head, Kosaburo began leading the way off the platform and into the empty sand desert.

"Come on," he said, readjusting his pack over his shoulder.

They had hardly taken a couple steps, however when through the desert wind and empty shifting sand, a man appeared in a white armored suit. A long bandana hung out from under the back of his protective helmet, and whipped like wind socks behind his head.

"Are you two the Team Rocket agents coming with Dr. Namba?" he asked enigmatically.

Completely unimpressed Kosaburo and Yamato looked at each and back at the man.

"You think we wear these big, red R's on our shirts to make a fashion statement?" muttered Kosaburo, crossing his arms.

Yamato smiled wryly and rolled her eyes.

"Did Dr. Namba say when he would come?" asked the man, evidently unable to hear Kosaburo's ingenious wit over the wind.

"Late tonight," Yamato replied. "Who're you? Can we go inside now before we get stuck in a sandstorm? _Seriously_!"

"I'm Xyster of Cipher," said the man. "I was sent to bring you to the base immediately."

He smiled; though his smile could not be deciphered without the aid of his eyes which were shielded by the visor of his helmet. With a wave of his hand, the Cipher agent motioned forward.

Again Yamato and Kosaburo looked at each other, and Yamato clicked the roof of her mouth and shook her head in disgust.

"Come on," she muttered, this time shifting her pack.

Reluctantly the Team Rocket agents followed this man of Team Cipher. The wind seemed to be picking up, and Team Rocket uniforms did nothing to shield them from the sand. Kosaubro could hear Yamato mutter just loud enough to be comprehended about how hard it would be to get the sand out of her thick, long hair.

Although a low building, and its roof covered with sand, the Cipher lab seemed little better hidden than the Team Rocket Headquarters, save for the cover of the desert. (Of course, Giovanni was so clever Team Rocket did not need to be visibly hidden.) This lab proved far enough away from civilization or kinder geography for some miles, too far to make it on foot without a danger of dropping in the desert for most people ignorant of true desert travel. Only sand scooters and jeeps could make it without the aid of Team Rocket's private helicopter pad. With the whipping sand, the half-sheltered courtyard could only be made out near the doorway, and trudging their way through this hot blizzard, the Cipher agent finally stepped first close enough to cause the electronic doors to open. He then ushered the Rocketers inside.

Breathing sighs of relief, Kosaburo and Yamato slumped forward a little, soaking in the lovely central air system set to a comforting temperature and humidity.

"I thought field agents in Team Rocket were all about fashion statements," muttered Xyster with a shrug.

"_Nanda_?" Yamato grumbled.

Kosaburo straightened himself and then his partner.

"Don't field agents get some control over of their uniforms, and that's why their females always wear skirts?" asked Xyster. "Not very functional. Not in the desert."

"Whatever," said Yamato, waving a hand aside. "I'm not wearing a Cipher suit, if that's what you're thinking."

"No way," said Xyster with a laugh. "Team Rocket designed their own desert savvy uniform." He paused and looked at the pair curiously. "And fashion statements … you're bangs match. Is that on purpose?"

Feeling slightly conscious of his long green bangs, Kosaburo blew them a little from his eyes.

"Yes, what's it to you?" demanded Yamato, brushing her bangs proudly. "Just take us to our rooms, will you? And tell us where we'll meet Dr. Namba when he comes."

"Ah, right … your rooms," said Xyster a little sheepishly.

"Dork," Kosaburo muttered.

"The dormitories are this way," Xyster said, again motioning forward, and walking down the darkened hall, they found themselves turning a corner away for a heavy pair of doors which aligned with the main doors. Past another corner they walked a ways until they came to an offshoot corridor from the main building and obviously quite newer than the rest of the building. The round doors with the bold red R reaching almost from ceiling to floor greeted them, but Xyster needed a key card to open it.

"Your wrist IDs will be able to open it once you've been upgraded to the system," Xyster explained, and then clearing his throat, "Rockets have a separate wing here, and though its kinda empty now, Shiranui-san plans to have it filled within the next year or so."

"What about Tatsumi?" said Kosaburo. "He works here doesn't he? He works for Dr. Shiranui, I thought."

"Oh! Tatsumi-san spends most of his time out of the lab," said Xyster. "He's been sleeping here sometimes, but otherwise he spends his nights at a smaller base closer to the sea."

"And where's our rooms?" asked Yamato. "Are they male and female separated or is this it?"

"I think you can just choose whichever one you want," said Xyster. "And this is it."

"Are they all the same?" muttered Kosaburo.

"Yes."

"Do they have showers?" demanded Yamato.

"Yes, in another part of the building," said Xyster, not understanding that she had meant in the rooms themselves. "Want me to show you?"

Yamato glared. "Do you ever take off that stupid visor?"

"Sure, I do, doll face," said Xyster with a strange smile.

There was a short pause. Yamato slipped a bottle of shampoo and a bar of soap from her pack. Then Yamato quite abruptly shoved her pack into Kosaburo's arms.

"Choose a room for me across from yours," Yamato snapped. "I'm taking a shower."

Kosaburo glared but did not care enough to protest. It was not worth making a scene, however exasperating Yamato could be when in a bad temper. Speaking not a word as the Cipher agent and Yamato parted (Xyster also handed Kosaburo the card key to get into the rooms), Kosaburo went straight for the last rooms down the corridor and threw open the door to one which he chose to be Yamato's. He tossed her belongings onto an ugly cot of a bed.

There were no windows, presumably because hot desert sun outside, but without any external light the tiny closet of a room looked about as miserable as any prison cell he had seen the inside of, except that this cell had carpeting and smelled like new construction and intoxicating cleaners. Also, most prison cells he had been to had had some sort of barred window. A closet could not be found, nor a dresser. Nothing. Just the cot bed and a low metal shelf along the wall with black matting over it like a skin over it.

"Home sweet home," said Kosaburo as he left, slamming the door behind him.

Across from this room, he found a room mirroring the one he had left exactly. The cot, the shelf, the windowless, metallic walls.

Taking off his pack, he set it down on the floor beside his bed and could not help a small groan.

_Better than the Shadow Base in Kanto,_ he thought sarcastically.

At the dorms which he left in Kanto there had windows, and closets, and dressers, and even personal toilets in a tiny room next to the closet. This? This was the room for an insane person at some loony bin!

_This is going to be so much fun!_

He certainly knew Yamato would have a thing or two to say about all this.

Reaching for a comb in his pack, he tried to get some of the sand out of his hair, and he thought he would ask Xyster when he came back where exactly the toilets were if not in the dormitory. Maybe he would just take a shower too after that.

#

Both Kosaburo and Yamato were refreshed and had nice long showers, and Xyster showed them a small, empty office room with a table in the middle. He explained that no actual dining area existed at the lab, but that everyone had places to eat. This one was unclaimed for the time present and could be taken by Kosaburo and Yamato if they so chose.

He offered them some wine, which they took without much care as Xyster explained, "Drink as much as you like. In the desert, hydration is key to survival, and everyone here is encouraged to have something with them to drink at all times, especially when one goes outside. Water's pretty bitter under our location and not great for drinking. You probably noticed when you took your showers. Bottled water isn't as convenient as other drink to bring here. We save it only for when going outside. You probably will be going outside once you've settled in. Most field agents from Team Rocket are doing—"

"Field work?" suggested Yamato, taking a sip from her glass.

"I guess," said Xyster apologetically for his blabbing on as he had.

Kosaburo took a sip too and frowned as his taste buds took in the unusual flavor.

"It's called Desert Bell," said Xyster.

"It's … interesting," said Yamato.

"It's what we usually have here," Xyster told them.

"Nice," grumbled Kosaburo and was surprised to see Yamato drink at least a full glass; though in his own thirst he too drank it to the bottom before long.

He was thinking about importing wine or at least some other beverage from Kanto, because he sure wasn't going to drink this crap all the time.

"So," demanded Kosaburo. "Where are we going next?"

"Well, I was gunna show you the labs next," said Xyster.

"Then start showing," said Yamato.

Xyster held up his hands defensively. "Alright, alright, there's no hurry, you know."

"_Sou da_," said Kosaburo. "We're not going anywhere soon."

"Well, I don't want to just sit around and wait for Dr. Namba to show up," said Yamato lightly. "Xyster. Show us the labs."

Xyster shrugged. "Okay, if you say so."

"_Hai_! We say so," Yamato growled.

"_You_ say so," Kosaburo corrected calmly, taking a last sip of wine.

Yamato shook her head in disgust.

As they exited the room, it was not long before they ran into a white coated man, presumably a scientist, and he stopped Xyster rather annoyed as he demanded where he was taking the Team Rocket Agents.

"Oh!" exclaimed Xyster. "These are Dr. Namba's cronies."

"Cronies!" cried Yamato.

"Yamato and Kosanji," Xyster finished.

Determined to keep his temper under control, after a violent shake of anger pulsed through him, Kosaburo sharply muttered, "Kosaburo."

Neither Xyster nor the scientist seemed to hear the agents.

The scientist frowned a moment, and then nodded. "Right, Dr. Namba." He glanced briefly and almost warily at the agents. "Go to the north labs. That's where Dr. Namba is supposed to meet them. There are a few other scientists as well."

"What are we going to do there?" asked Yamato.

"What do you think?" demanded the scientist. "Things pertaining to the shadow project. Shadow specimen are not only created in Kanto."

"Fine, be that way!" snorted Yamato. "But I can't see how they'd be any more advanced than the pokémon we already have."

Kosaburo rolled his eyes "Just—let's go, okay?"

"I'll take them from here," said the scientist.

"Fine with me," said Xyster. There was something in his tone that Kosaburo did not like, and it had nothing to do with disdain or sarcasm he had shown earlier. Something in his tone sounded just a little too relieved.

Nevertheless, the agents followed the scientist without further insult and found themselves led through a broad corridor in which no rooms could be found until the scientist stopped before their destination. The doctor held up a card key, and he explained as Xyster had, that later the wrist ID's would—

"Yeah, yeah, just shut up, okay?" Yamato snapped.

The door slid open, and the scientist graciously allowed the agents in first, but it turned out that the scientist was not following them.

_Just as well,_ Kosaburo thought.

The door shut behind them, and everything went dark.

Or should it be said that the lab when the door was closed possessed only a very dim glow all from the computers and other equipment inside? No actual light could be seen from the ceiling or any lamp. It almost looked like everyone had stepped out for a break, and yet someone must be in here if they had been ushered here.

Besides, a lab like this certainly could not be left unattended by someone at least.

"Hello?" Yamato ventured to ask.

No one answered.

Everything looked much like the lab the keva had destroyed, except a tad more spacious. The same equipment, the same computers, but something, Kosaburo could not explain it, felt a little different in the atmosphere. It could have been merely because this lab had been originally created by Cipher, but …

A yawn escaped his partner then, and she looked rather bored. That chased any ill ease immediately out of the mind of Kosaburo. Still, turning toward the door, he had a mind to catch up with the doctor who had left them there and demand where everyone was. Thus turning, he reached for the door, but just as he was about to open it, he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"_Mite_," said Yamato pointing. "There's someone."

Kosaburo followed her finger to a very dim, purplish glow where what looked like a person was looking down at something, perhaps writing something down or looking at a computer screen. And, what annoyed Kosaburo, he appeared to be pretending that Kosaburo and his partner were not there.

Yamato stepped forward first, and Kosaburo followed, feeling a yawn trying to work its way out of his own mouth, but he stifled it. The long day must have been catching up with them. First the arrival at the lab just below the Kanto Mountains early that morning after a night of driving until late, the keva being housed in the lab, the fight and the pokémon's escape, then calling Dr. Namba, and being told that a helicopter would be picking them up within an hour. It was past his usual supper time, and although he did not feel especially hungry, he knew that a bite to eat would probably wake both him and his partner up for the rest of the evening until Dr. Namba arrived.

"Hey, you," said Yamato. "Excuse me."

Maybe rest would better than a meal. For a moment Kosaburo thought he saw bubbles emerge in the purple light. Closing his eyes briefly and rubbing his temple, he caught up with Yamato to see the stuck up scientist.

The scientist did not reply to Yamato.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" growled Kosaburo.

"Yeah, we're talking to—"

Both Yamato and Kosaburo stopped in unison, eyes nearly popping out of their heads at the human shape in the glass tube, wires all around him, mask over his mouth and nose for breathing, and a thick, purple glow of some murky liquid all around him. Like the pokémon that they had seen shadowized in the lab in the Kanto Region, this man was immersed in the final, long phase of a shadow pokémon.

"Kosaburo …" Yamato gulped, shrinking beside him.

Kosaburo still stood stiffly and only looked out of the corner of his eye as he replied, "This isn't the right lab."

Yamato nodded shakily.

"Let's get out of here," she said.

They turned to leave. At first the both walked unsteadily, then more briskly before they broke out into a full run toward the door. Yamato pulled, Kosaburo yanked, but the door would not open. They would not be able to open it without the card key.

"Open up!" yelled Kosaburo. "Open up! This is the wrong lab! We're not supposed to be here. Open the door!"

He threw a glare to Yamato, wondering why she was not at his side anymore, but he cringed in fright to see that Yamato looked about to faint, as if she suddenly was not getting enough air, but Yamato was not the fainting sort. He knew instantly what had happened.

"The wine!" he groaned.

Her eyes crossed strangely, and she slowly collapsed onto her knees. Before he could reach her, she rested her head on the floor. Her body went limp as unconsciousness completely took hold of her.

Leaping to his feet, Kosaburo made to wake his partner, but he could feel the effects of what drug had tainted that wine himself now, his eyes finding it harder and harder to focus until he forgot what he wanted to do. With the approach of some man coming towards him, all thought of Yamato vanished completely. It took all strength just to look at the man and recognize him as Dr. Namba.

"Namba-san!" he said, his legs giving way beneath him, and he slumped to his knees. "There's been a mistake! We're good agents! You can't … can't …" He shook his head, trying so hard to stay awake. "We were loyal to Team Rocket …"

"There's no mistake," said Namba, his voice echoing strangely as the dim lights grew dimmer. "You'll both serve Team Rocket better this way."

He grinned insanely, the way he grinned at suffering pokémon. Before this day, Kosaburo had thought it a little creepy, but to have the grin upon him, made Kosaburo sick.

"But I didn't complain … I did my job … Namba … I … I … was loyal …"

He couldn't help now his eyes from rolling to the ceiling. All went dark as the cold, tiled floor met his face.

* * *

JAPANESE PHRASES

_Nanda: What_

_Sou da: That's right_

_Hai: yes_

_Mite: Look_


	17. Southbound

JMJ

CHAPTER SIXTEEN:

Southbound

Kojiro spun around, his arms whipping around him like a flag switching directions in a strong wind. Twiddling his fingers at his sides, he scanned the area suspiciously, and then with a gulp, he turned back the way he and Nyaasu walked.

"Are you sure no one's gunna follow us?" asked Kojiro a little uneasily.

"Ny-o one's gun-nya follow us, nya," Nyaasu grumbled in return. "Just stop worrying. We magnya-tized your bracelet, nya. It's screwed up! Even if it did work, who would be keeping track of everyone's ID? It would take a while for a-nya-one to ny-otice an-yee-way, nya."

Again Kojiro looked over his shoulder as if he had not heard the cat's advice.

"Kojiro, nya!" Nyaasu meowed feeling rather annoyed, and he crossed his arms to prove it. "Stop doing that, nya."

Lowering his head in front of him once more, Kojiro let out a heavy sigh.

"I can't help it. I don't want to be followed home."

"We're closer to your summer home where those ny-ice servants your family has stay, nya," offered Nyaasu cheerfully.

"I don't want to lead anyone there either!" said Kojiro.

Nyaasu shook his head.

"It's more fortified," the cat pointed out. "It's a castle, nya. Come on!"

"A strong pokémon could bring it down if a trainer or agent told it to," Kojiro pointed out in return.

They should know, Nyaasu supposed. Walls were no safe barrier between oneself and a pokémon ready to attack. In fact in some ways it could be more dangerous. Walls can crush a person (or feline) flat. Not a fun experience. Not a fun experience at all.

"Besides," said Kojiro with a shrug.

"Besides … nya?" Nyaasu asked skeptically.

Kojiro sighed. "Nothing."

"You wan-nya try pulling it off again, nya?" Nyaasu offered.

"Not really," Kojiro said.

Although, he opened his mouth to tell him that it was no use complaining then, Nyaasu stopped, and Kojiro looked behind him once more. Both cat and human had heard the same thing. There was someone behind them, but when they looked they could see no one at first.

The abruptness of the rustling shrubbery caused a pair of shrieks. Leaping into Kojiro's arms, Nyaasu stuck out all fur and claws, and Kojiro gripped the cat tightly around the waist, nearly squeezing out what little lay in his stomach.

Then the man appeared fully dressed in a uniform that neither Nyaasu nor Kojiro had ever seen before, but right away they guessed that this was an agent of Team Polsar.

"I'll make this easy for you, Rocket," said the agent quite cordially and as if in his enemy's best interest, and this enemy happened to be Kojiro. "You surrender nicely, and you won't be killed after the interrogation."

Kojiro gulped. "The intera …" But a seriousness took over his face, and stepping boldly forward his said quite simply, "No!"

Nyaasu had to admit he liked the glint in Kojiro's eyes. The determination, though a tad odd as could only be expected with Kojiro, was still very becoming on him.

"Ny-eah! Ny-o way, nya!" Nyaasu snarled, popping out of Kojiro's arms and landing neatly on the ground in front of him.

"We're not going to be kidnapped by Team Polsar!" Kojiro finished.

Only a careless shrug ignited as a response.

Instead, the Polsar agent threw a pokéball onto the ground, and a strange Northern Region pokémon appeared.

"Voltres!" called the agent.

A round floating creature with one large eyes in the middle of his round body, it possessed many appendages all around shaped like thunderbolts. Already real sparks were sizzling at the ends of these appendages. He looked rather intimidating, and Kojiro as knowledgeable he was about the various types of pokémon (though nothing too specific about the more foreign ones), knew nothing about this one, which made it all the more unnerving as the unknown often does.

Kojiro threw out Weezing, and as soon as he entered the scene a second agent appeared, a woman. Team Rocket may have invented the male/female partnerships, but all other Teams afterward had followed their example in the usual competitive spirit of business or playground cliques. She too released a pokémon known as a tripeye, also round, but had four legs and claws and a pair of wings aside from his three bulging red eyes, hence the name.

Both agents were ready to take Kojiro and his pokémon down swiftly and quietly.

"Water gun!" said the man.

_Oh, great! Half water and half electric, those are always fun,_ thought Nyaasu dryly.

But the attack was not aimed for Weezing; it was not even aimed for Nyaasu. The attack had been meant for Kojiro. In an unfair battle, that would be the easiest tactic to win. If one got rid of the master, the pokémon would not know what to do next, but unbeknownst to either Kojiro or the Polsar agent, Nyaasu saw this all happening quite quickly.

In a sudden burst of loyalty he often forgot he had, in a storm of fury and a bolt of sudden fear, he jumped past Kojiro and used iron tail as hard as he could over the opposing pokémon's head, which slammed into the ground eye first.

"Leave Kojiro alone, nya!"

At first Kojiro could only pause in surprise, but as the voltres tried to recover itself and the female agent readied herself for her own attack, he cried out as hard as he could, "Weezing smog attack!"

Weezing obeyed, covering the whole surrounding area with a thick, soupy fog.

No one could see through the smog. Kojiro and Nyaasu could barely see themselves, except that they had trained themselves along with Musashi to be watchful and to duck low away from the fumes. The opposing side now found themselves in a fit of coughing, and Nyaasu, more fired up than before could just see the pitiful humans gagging and choking on the smog as he ducked beside Kojiro, and the Polsar agents swung around wildly wondering where the Team Rocket agent could be.

Shifting on his hunching in feline style, Nyaasu made to attack again, but Kojiro would not have it now. However, Nyaasu had no time to protest. Just as Kojiro had snatched up Nyaasu and turned to leave, another attack call could be heard.

No, not an attack, just calling for a pair of wings to blow the smog away, tripeye's wings.

Kojiro broke into a run, and he fled as fast as he could, Nyaasu bouncing uncomfortably in his arms, but the X-agent proved not quite fast enough.

"There he is!" cried the male Polsar agent. "Thunder!"

A bolt of electricity streaked through the air behind Nyaasu and Kojiro before they could turn around. The charge stopped them dead in their track and shook then violently with the sudden surge of pain and powerful pulse through their bodies. They looked almost like a pair of sizzling vegetables in fast motion.

In a dizzying heap, Kojiro and Nyaasu fell suddenly to ground. Their tongues and eyes lolled, and the strong scent of something burning hung strongly about them. Yet, fortunately (or unfortunately) all those shocks Pikachu had given them made them even now able to fight back the pain enough to jump back to their feet as the Polsar agents approached.

In a click of a mental light bulb, Nyaasu scurried to Kojiro's leg and snatched a pokéball from his belt. Before Kojiro could fully comprehend what had happened, Nyaasu tossed the ball upon the ground.

"_Harrrrrrrrrr_!"

A sudden panic overtook Kojiro, and he would have looked rather humorous to Nyaasu had he not been preoccupied with their foes.

"Harflame!" Kojiro cried.

The little blue and orange rabbit looked rather endearing save for the wild, dangerous look in her eyes. Like Kosaburo's tangella and like Yamato's skarmory, the little pokémon had a look and feel about her that sent chills down one's spine and made one want to have nothing to do her. Nyaasu found himself leaping back uneasily even before the flame shot out from her tail.

At the sound of her name, the fiery tail of the creature ignited and flared bonfire-size, which would not have been so bad in itself. It only pained Kojiro to know, not to mention feel, the flame headed straight for his already rather burnt face, for he stood far too close. It seemed doubtful that the pokémon did it on purpose, but in her artificial rage, she was a nightmare.

The Polsar agents too stepped back a little, and their pokémon looked rather intimidated.

"_Ita_ …" groaned Kojiro when the fire had subsided from his face.

"Poor agent," muttered the man sarcastically.

"Can't control his shadow pokémon," muttered the woman in the same almost inaudible tone.

"He can't know much," said the man.

"Probably not," said the woman.

"But we could take his shadow pokémon and his … freak," said the man.

Nyaasu growled, fur bristling. "_Freak_!"

Leaping onto Kojiro's head, he flung a finger toward their opponents as if ordering an elephant to charge.

"Get the harflame to shadow attack them, nya! Get them! Get them! Nyah!"

Kojiro glowered, and instead of complying with the cat's wishes, much to Nyaasu's annoyance, he called Weezing, who still hovered not far away.

"Smog attack!" he cried again.

Once more smog filled the area. This time the agents were ready for it, but Nyaasu saw what would happen before anyone else did. His eyes nearly popped out of his head with alarm.

"_NYAH_! Kojiro, you idiot, nya!" Nyaasu screamed.

The Polsar agents' eyes widened with the realization of what the cat meant. Kojiro, slower than most, only seemed to realize this the moment that the smog came in contact with the rabbit's flaming tail.

Ducking down, he covered his head. No one had a chance of running away now.

"_Iya, _nya_," _sobbed Nyaasu.

_BOOM!_

The earth shattered, and all drowned in a deafening roar.

#

"_I wiped them out on my own," Masato had told her once they had escaped Team Rocket Headquarters._

_Masato had been quick to tell his sister that he had every business looking for their dad and quickly reminded her that he had been a trainer himself for almost a year. Of course, Haruka felt annoyed that Masato had shown up without telling, but she had not forgotten. She just had had no idea where Masato happened to be at the time she had started her quest. Otherwise she would have snagged him along._

_She then had the difficulty of explaining the presence of Musashi. In the end it proved rather uncertain whether Masato accepted it even to himself. However, he did not argue, especially when Haruka began to tell what she found out at Team Rocket Headquarters._

"_Team Rocket is holding him captive in the Orre Region!" Haruka explained. "He knew about the shadow project. I … don't really know the details, but …"_

"_What happened to Kojiro? Did you hear anything about him?" This had naturally been Musashi._

"_I don't know," Haruka had admitted. "The agent wasn't really clear on that part, uh … he—I heard something about shadow agents. Do you know anything about that, Musashi-san?"_

"_Do you think Kojiro's down in the Orre Region too!?" gasped Musashi. "I heard that they were sending lame agents there!" She stopped suddenly and thought a few seconds before adding rather gruffly, "Not that Kojiro's that lame, but they might've sent him there!"_

"_I didn't say he was," said Haruka, rather befuddled. "He just said Kojiro was gone."_

"_Gone could mean anything," said Masato, but Musashi would not listen, causing Masato to only shake his head and plop it in his hand, the elbow of which rested on the table._

"_He MUST be there!" cried Musashi, leaping up from her chair frantically._

_They sat inside a Pokémon Center at a small table where they had just finished their lunch._

_A thought came to Masato then. Glancing out the window at the evening fields rustling gently behind the center, he turned to the young women again and asked, "What's a shadow agent?"_

_Musashi knew nothing about it, and said so. She also added (quite delayed) to Haruka that she could not call her "san"._

_Nevertheless as she, Masato and Haruka made their way to the Orre Region, first by bus and then by ferry, Masato despite himself, thought about the idea of the shadow agent more and more …_

_A shadow agent either means two things_, thought Masato in the present time on the ferry.

It meant either that the agents in charge of shadow pokémon or it meant that those crazy freaks that run Team Rocket had gone one step further in their mad science merriment.

He believed in self control, and he believed in figuring out facts before jumping to conclusions. A realist by nature, he would not be easily daunted by mystery and darkness. He liked facts so much that sometimes his fact learning got in the way of training pokémon. The situation with his father and everything put him on edge, however, enough sometimes for the brief moment of unproven terror.

_What if they aren't just planning to do this to agents and they decide to make other people shadow like my—_

Haruka's sudden laugh woke him from his thoughts, which broke the spell upon him. He brushed such thoughts aside and put his mind at the situation on hand.

Stepping off the ferry, the odd trio found themselves in Gate Port of the Orre Region. A pretty little port, it stood bright and cheerful with sparkling shops and people making their way merrily about. The only off thing was the tiles here and there on the paves walkways which proved that at one time someone had tried to put tiles in places, but had not done a great job of removing them.

"_Sugoi_!" cried Haruka. "We're in a region that Satoshi's never been to before."

"So?" demanded Masato, raising a brow up to his sister.

"I dunno," said Haruka, shrugging. "It's just cool."

Masato shook his head.

"I wish that we had been here before," muttered Musashi.

"Why?" asked Haruka.

"Because I don't know where anything is!" Musashi cried.

"Calm down, Musashi!" exclaimed Masato.

Fists at her side, she breathed heavily; passersby stopped and looked at her raging eyes and wild clenching teeth.

"Yeah, we just need to find a map or something," said Haruka brightly and giggling a tad nervously.

"There won't be a Team Rocket base on some tourist map!" Musashi snapped.

"Then we do some scouting around too," said Masato smartly, and he adjusted his glasses in a manner that seemed to make Musashi all the more disgusted. "Someone's has to've heard about what's going on somewhere. Those Cipher people who invented the shadow project in the Orre Region can't be too happy about this …"

"What do you know about the Shadow Project?" asked Haruka curiously.

"Lots," said Masato. "I read all about it. This boy named Jyou stopped the whole project for good. It's a really cool story! And even better cuz its true!"

Musashi shook her head and crossed her arms. "When do you have time to train your pokémon?"

"Hey!" cried Masato defensively. "I train my pokémon. My flygon is the coolest thing ever. He can whoop you Arbok and Lickitongue at the same time any day."

"That's not much of a feat," grumbled Musashi, most sourly.

"Come on," said Masato with a roll of his eyes. "Let's get started."

Haruka gasped.

"What?" cried Masato and Musashi in near unison.

"Look! We have to check out that sushi stand first! See they make custom sushi shaped like anything you want! We have to go see!"

Musashi and Masato exchanged glances, both stood with their arms crossed.

"Uh … okay …" said Musashi.

"She's sanguine," said Masato in explanation, though more to himself than to Musashi.

And the trio made for the sushi stand.

#

He must have fell unconscious, for the next moment Kojiro knew anything, sunlight shone around him, and the Polsar agents could not be found.

He sprang to his feet.

"What happened!?" he cried.

For a moment only the sweet singing of birds answered him in the fresh, early morning; though, he still felt pretty sore and singed. His clothes were rags, and his hair was a complete mess and felt like a limp mop on his head. The strands that came down in front of his eyes looked filthy.

As he brushed the hair out of his face, he saw Nyaasu stumbling toward him.

"The agents must have got blown away, nya," said Nyaasu rather cheerfully as he rubbed a sore arm.

Kojiro shook his head.

"Or us," muttered Kojiro.

Nothing looked familiar, but then it had been rather dark last night.

Slumping back into a sitting position with knees up out in front of him for his arms to rest upon, Kojiro closed his eyes a moment and could not help the sigh. Nyaasu leapt beside him and relaxed next to him with a mutter about yana kanji that Kojiro did not quite catch.

He had been distracted. On his wrist he felt a most uncomfortable itch at that moment. At first he had no desire to relieve the itch. Some sordid part of him wanted to remind him of his plight. Yet in the end he relented. It was becoming more a pinch than an itch. He had to see what caused it.

Thus pulling back his glove, he looked down with saucer eyes at the noticeable crack in his ID!

* * *

JAPANESE PHRASES

_Ita: ouch_

_Iya: no_

_Sugoi: cool_


	18. Dreams in Shadow

JMJ

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN:

Dreams in Shadow

First Kosaburo felt rage. A burning, terrible, and painful rage. He did not know what enraged him so, but as consciousness slowly reached him, it felt so strong that for a moment he almost thought he would explode. A gurgling growl formed somewhere in the back of his throat, and a flash of blue/purple light struck his vision before he could manage to open them.

When he finally did look around him, he felt as though he had been struck by lightning at the sudden terror and helpless.

This had to be a nightmare!

Lights, tubes, screens above him. Wires could be seen in huge fuzzy noodle-like forms coming from his face and becoming clearer as they arched away from his behind his head, and he was sure he could feel enough wires on the back of his head as well and on his neck, over his chest and everywhere else on his body. Cold, hard metal pressed up against his back, and as he tried to pry himself upward from it, besides feeling a bout of dizziness that nearly caused him to faint, he found that his wrists were cuffed to the table as well as his middle, his legs and ankles. He was trapped.

After the dizzy wave passed over his eyes, and it was in the colors of black and blue, he found himself lying flat again.

"Relax, Kosanji," mocked a voice quite nearby.

Flinging upright as much as he was able, being bound to the table as he was, he faced the direction of the voice without the least bit of comprehension of who spoke to him. With another severed growl that sounded more like a sickening croak, he finally found enough voice to respond as a rage boiled over in his mind and pulsed through his body like a flaming drug.

"_KO-O-OSABU-U-URO_!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, hurting his throat from going so loud and high pitched. It was nearly a monkeylike screech.

Coughing ensued and he felt very weak and dizzy again. Falling backward, hitting his head rather painfully back against the table, he let out a pitiful moan that could be called near a sob. He heaved heavy breaths as his head whirled like one that has spun around in a circle and finally come to a stop.

Then the owner of the voice stood over him. Hands wrapped around his back, a menacing hyena grin shown hefty white teeth behind an orange mustache, and ears almost as pointed as the orange hair sticking up on the balding head.

"Namba …" Kosaburo groaned, his senses becoming a bit clearer as he stared up helplessly and remembered the last events before he fell unconscious. "_Doushite_? _Doushite,_ Namba? Lemme go. Please!" He felt searing tears touch the edges of his eyes, but the state he found himself in would not force him to sacrifice at least the dignity of holding those tears back from falling in front of the likes of this man especially. "This is a mistake!"

"No mistake," said Namba pleasantly. "This is the future of Team Rocket."

"Torturing the agents?" screamed Kosaburo.

"No, don't be stupid," said Namba with a shake of his head and a laugh. "Not all the agents will go through this process. Most shadow agents will be picked up wherever we want, but it was thought that a pair of true Team Rocket agents should undergo the first real and controlled process of shadowization before we create this second class of agents!"

"Namba …" Kosaburo growled dangerously.

Dr. Namba ignored him as he tapped a thoughtful finger at his chin and then moved that finger up to stroke his mustache.

"Now how did he put it exactly?" he muttered rather absently and first, and he smiled suddenly with the satisfaction of remembering before adding to Kosaburo, "Many agents, and grunts as well, although loyal to the death, lack in true obedience. They are blinded by their pride, their own ambitions, their selves. They've created their own subculture. A cult! And don't worry, you will have full competency. Minds will be sharper with all thought focused only on the task and the Team in mind, and perhaps it will sober the rest of the Team Rocket agents enough to regain competency that lacks in other areas as well. Team Rocket field agents have become a joke! They don't take anything seriously. It's all their little game of superiority and flare! Team Rocket won't stand for this anymore. If I understand correctly, this will be the fate of any Team Rocket agent who dares to take Team Rocket as a mere game. All you stupid kids will learn your place!"

All through this speech, Kosaburo merely stared back at his old superior and was unable to believe what he heard. He thought for a second time, that this all had to be a dream, but he knew that the pain around him could not be a trick of a mere dream. If this was not real then he would have to be crazy and even insanity proved easier to take than this. At that last line, however, his anger flared up again, and he could do nothing to stop it.

"But I was loyal to Team Rocket, you idiot! I did what I was told!" cried Kosaburo. "I did everything that was told of me! We made you all those stinking sushi and finger sandwiches for crying out loud! That's not even our _job_! Yamato and I … where's Yamato?"

"Yamato is fine," said Namba. "She's resting. We can put one human through the shadow process at this facility at a time so far. It's a lot more complicated than putting pokémon through it. Staff is limited at the moment. It will be her turn soon enough." Namba smiled, drawing disturbingly close to Kosaburo's face so that Kosaburo squirmed under his shadow cast from the light shining directly above. "But as for you and your loyalty … emotions get in the way of Team Rocket business," here Namba shrugged. "And you have been known to be rather unstable in that department, now haven't you? Why not put your emotions to use. Someone as emotional as you makes a perfect specimen for the project. I know you're capable of better than you're performance of late. This will focus all the energy of negative emotion and adrenalin to one goal. The better of Team Rocket."

"I'll kill you!" snarled Kosaburo.

Namba only laughed. "You _know_ how the shadow process works. You've seen it firsthand. Any living thing that has undergone the shadow process no longer knows the meaning of disobedience to their superiors, no longer feels fear and giddiness that causing one to think too far ahead or feel too overconfident. Only rage focused on what needs to be done. Anything I order of you to do, you will do it, and to the best of your ability. No rivalry or petty differences with other agents or puffed pride will get in the way."

Violently, Kosaburo shook his head.

"I won't forget this! NAMBA! I hate you! I _hate _you! And I won't forget! I promise you!" He was shaking with rage now, and it is likely than even without the artificial anger enhancers he would have been almost as insane for his fear, anger and feelings of betrayed. "I'll get you one day! You'll regret this! One day! One day when you least expect it, I'll KILL YOU! _YOU HEAR ME_?!"

With a heavy sigh, Dr. Namba turned away idly, and looking at one of the assisting doctors (Kosaburo was still shrieking terribly and uncontrollably behind him), he said, "Sedate him."

"Yes, Dr. Namba," said the doctor with a bow of his head and an perturbed eye on Kosaburo.

"And turn up the juice," Namba added.

"_Hai_!"

Rubbing his hands together madly, Namba turned back to face the maddened patient who did not even seem to see Namba anymore as the wailing continued. While the sedative was pumped into Kosaburo from a thin wire at one arm, Namba glanced a moment at Dr. Shiranui standing mostly hidden in the shadows by the long tubes for the final step of the shadow process. After this last pump of shadow juice, Kosaburo could be immersed in it and have his mind slowly molded for the delicate balance of cold rage, sharpened thoughts, and near blind obedience.

Dr. Shiranui's smile was only barely perceptible in the gloom, but it was viler than anything on the face of Namba …

Meanwhile, Kosaburo's other arm began to buzz with an extra boost of shadow juice. His screams had become faint, and his mind began to fade again, but he shook wildly from the liquid being forcibly pulsed through his system; up his arm, through his neck, into his throbbing head, swallowing his violently pounding heart, and moving down into the rest of his body. He would have screamed for pain had he been more awake by this point, but the sedative, aside from making him drowsy must have had a numbing effect as well.

His heart thumped dangerously fast and hard in his ears. The tears could not be helped now, for a couple stray ones fell down his face before his eyes went dry from lack of conscious brain power. For a moment he knew that every wild beating of his heart brought him closer to the end of his free life, until one last thought before the purple blue and black cloud took him out of even slightly rational thought altogether told him that he had never been truly free …

He plunged into a dark and menacing place where dreams dragged him through realms of hatred and pain he had tried to suppress since the beginning of his life. History long since buried reemerged. Bad experiences transformed into tragedies, and tragedies exploded into living nightmares until at last it came around to the living nightmare he in which he now dwelled and everything swirled to the beginning again.

#

Waves clapped against the cliff side and glowed in the massive yellow sun before falling back into the sea. A few wingulls soared overhead, circling easily in the distance while they scouted out their next meal, but otherwise the coast appeared rather barren. The public beaches lay not but a few miles away, but the access to such a cliff would either be being dropped off by a helicopter or pokémon, or having great abilities in rock climbing, not to mention having the right equipment to accomplish it.

Why anyone would want to descend it is another question altogether, yet if one looked down amidst the jagged rocks and their daggered tips between the crashing of the seas one could just make out what looked like a manmade structure of some kind. No doubt if anyone did happen to venture this far out along the barren cliffs, which only neared the desert behind it, they would think it something that had fallen and gotten stuck down there, however unlikely the odds of it coming to rest so perfectly and mostly hidden by outcroppings and the beginnings of a small cave. A person such as this would probably scratch at the head and muse a moment, but would not think much before moving on.

As the sun grew higher to the point of noon and the sun grew hotter, baking the cliff above where the water could not reach just at the line where the structure began, a low rumble sounded in the distance. The sound drew closer and quite straight and with purpose as the vehicle to match the sound appeared. The sand scooter at first looked as though it might be aimed right over the side of the cliff in hopes it may be as lucky as the structure to fall so neatly into a comfortable hold, but the rider knew precisely when to stop, having driven out here more than once, though usually not so close to the afternoon.

He wore white to reflect the sun's rays, even though none but rookies and high ranking officers had worn white in Team Rocket for quite some time now. From Team Rocket the man proved to be too with the red R glistening on the front of his scooter and held proudly on the front of his heat resistant jacket. The visor and helmet looked almost identical to the ones the Cipher agents wore as did the boots and the armored plating under the jacket and along his legs. The suit was not for protection from physical attack so much as for keeping cool out in the desert heat, for the suit came equipped with a high tech cooling system to keep its wearer from feeling the intensity of his or her surroundings. These cliffs were more active at night than in the day after all, and Team Rocket took every precaution against having their existence in the Orre Region revealed to outsiders. Though one would think that the easiest way to avoid such a calamity would be to avoid wearing the "R", but the pride of Team Rocket prevented them from taking such precautions except at the utmost need (and if they were field agents).

The rider, Tatsumi by name, braked tightly so that the scooter did not come to a complete halt until right at the edge of the cliff. Through his visor, he could look out over the glistening sea without trouble, but still he did not look long before he climbed off the scooter and leapt onto the sand.

Rather robust in build with thick muscled arms and broad shoulders, he dwarfed little grunts who usually surrounded him even if he was not exceptionally tall. Alone at the edge of the massive cliff he did not look like much, staring down at the deadly rocks below and more importantly at the structure in their midst. He could have been a dwarf rather than a giant in comparison with cliff.

Speaking of grunts, Tatsumi would have preferred normally to have a grunt do such menial tasks, but grunts were not being sent over to the Orre Region in any great numbers. In fact there may have been three or four in the whole region as of yet, and all of them at the Cipher Lab, perhaps with the possibility of unwanted promotions. He could have sent Cipher Agents or even a couple rogue, Snagg'em agents on Team Rocket's side now, but Tatsumi would rather go himself than have anything to do with Cipher, and he did not trust those little mice from Snagg'em to keep a secret. Thus the only one left to do any menial task out here was Tatsumi himself.

In some ways that proved just fine too. He grew tired of the stuffy little hideout under the sand where he monitored racking devices and watched screens, and although he found it just fine keeping an eye on civilization (for he often went there in person), he did not mind enjoying the thought of the prestigious prisoner locked below him.

Reaching into a case attached to the back of the scooter, Tatsumi pulled out a packet of meager food and a speaker. The speaker, he attached to his very thick, Batman-like arsenal of a belt; then he reached for another quite Batman-esque object which after the food had been attached to the end of a line of this gadget, Tatsumi could use it to drop the food down neatly with the press of a button. Shooting right down, the packet of food just managed to hit the structure in the right spot, the magnetized end of the line drew to the magnetized slab on the side of the structure, and the moment it did a small opening appeared. The food slid inside the trap, and sealed just as easily shut again. Tatsumi then brought the line back up and returned it with the empty packet back into the compartment on the back of the scooter.

Senri would not be getting out of that prison any time soon. Tatsumi had no doubt about that, and just to spite the poor gym leader, he picked up his speaker to announce his meal.

"You shouldn't have gotten involved, Senri," said Tatsumi.

Senri did not answer. Of course he did not. Tatsumi had not expected him to. A proud, arrogant fool was Senri. It was just as well too, because Tatsumi preferred that he did not talk.

"Fortunately for you Team Rocket is close to a point where they'll start the ransom for your return to your gym," Tatsumi added. "But it will be a very high ransom."

Clicking off, Tatsumi placed the radio back with the line and pack before sealing it back up again in the compartment.

He understood keeping prisoners. He was just fine with ransoms. Even the occasional killing if necessary was not below him (not that the chance had actually befallen him personally), and naturally as a member of Team Rocket he spent the better part of his life stealing pokémon and having them experimented on for the benefits of the team or the benefits of Dr. Shiranui under whom he worked. In other words he was a creep and more than a creep, a very downright villainous character, and any normal person would have done well to stay clear of him. Yet even many villains have a limit, especially hirelings, even hirelings as high up in ranks as Tatsumi. That perhaps was even one of the reasons for the creation of the shadow agent.

Tatsumi had no desire to witness Shiranui's new plan take effect.

New?

It had been two years now!

Tatsumi despised it. He had tolerated it in its earlier stages, but as time wore on and knowledge of what Shiranui truly wanted for his project became clear, Tatsumi wanted less and less to do with the Cipher Lab. He wanted nothing to do with Shiranui or his future agents. Experimenting on humans was where Tatsumi had his line dropped, and he could not stand and watch it happen before his eyes if he could help it. Besides, there was always that uncanny fear that one day when he least expected it, Shiranui would decide that Tatsumi would need a lovely little promotion as well, and even if it was to be the captain of his robotic-minded army, Tatsumi knew that he would rather die.

And these fears were not in vain either after what Tatsumi had just heard about Namba's field agents …

Climbing back onto his scooter, Tatsumi turned his vehicle around and drove back toward his meager base where at least no one would be able to sneak up on him before he made his way into civilization where people need not fear for their control over their own minds.

He left behind him a trail of sand and dust in great clouds, and as the scooter disappeared behind the dunes, the cliff stood as if the agent had never appeared save for the marks that the scooter had left behind. The sea breeze would remedy such a small blight, however, and even before the rumbling died away, the sand and breeze had begun its work.

But down below in the little prison that had once been an obscure Cipher base, rested Senri in the dark. Only the thinnest vent at the ceiling allowed any light to come in from the outside world. Although the pokémon which had been on his person at the time of the kidnapping had long been taken from him, Team Rocket spared no precautions in the possibility of their prisoner's escape. As already said, Team Rocket did not want publicity about the shadow project, and indeed even the pokémon side of it was to appear low key for now until Giovanni thought the pokémon were enough in quantity for it not to matter. For Senri to discover a secret that not even most Team Rocket members themselves were aware of, he had to be taken care of until the proper time. Of course, they could have killed him, but the idea of a huge ransom to pay for the shadow project overruled such a possibility.

Thus here Senri stayed, day after day in his darkened cell with nothing but a half broken toilet and the food they dropped for him once a day.

_Not so powerful now, are you gym leader?_

The words of mockery from that great oaf Tatsumi came to his mind. That was what he said when he had dropped off Senri. With the help of some Team Rocket pokémon and a couple grunts and some Cipher Agents, he had been lowered in here half conscious and sealed up like a secret document for no eyes to see.

At first the words had done nothing to discourage him. These words only strengthened his resolve to escape, to prove to Team Rocket and Cipher alike how powerful a man he could be, yet as time wore on in his dark and lonely prison and after several hopeless attempts at escaping, Senri started to feel doubt.

He had tried to find any weak spot on the floor, around the toilet, alone the walls. He had tried to climb up a corner of the wall to reach the vents. He had even tried shoving a boot into the food slot to keep it open long enough to use that as a means of escape, but the slot had moved shut in such a way that the boot merely fell down into the sea below. Once he had heard over the crash of the waves at night people laughing as if a group of teenagers decided to have a party somewhere along the cliff. Though he had called out to them, they seemed to hear. Perhaps their voices had been carried his way by the wind, and they had been further away than they seemed to be, or maybe his voice had been distorted by the time it reached the ears of the careless partiers above. It may have sounded like some call of some strange pokémon or simply the wildness of the wind.

Nothing worked thus far, but Senri was determined not to give up just yet.

Though by this day, Senri had begun to run out of ideas, and no new opportunities were coming his way. He had just earlier that morning broken the speaker which Tatsumi used to mock Senri with. In some strange inspiration, Senri thought that he could have somehow rewired the radio to signal other people in the area. Ships, the ports, anyone, but the enemy, but he had only ended in destroying it in his frustration. It was just as well though, Senri supposed. Now he did not have to deal with that big oaf and his scoffs.

Senri knew well enough from their first meeting that Tatsumi (from a slip of his tongue) feared the shadow project as much as Senri did and perhaps more. His talk was big like his shoulders, but it was nothing to him however annoying, except that one phrase. For some reason he could not shake that one no matter how hard he tried.

_Not so powerful now, are you gym leader?_

For some reason now, that single phrase only made his mind drift to thoughts of his family, and as is apt to happen to any poor soul in solitary confinement, his thoughts moved to the painful realm of one's life. Things one might have done better, things that they might have changed had they been able. Mostly all such thoughts revolved around his family. Senri had no regrets about his life as a gym leader but his life as a father and a husband … those were the thoughts that haunted him, and with less escape schemes to keep his mind busy, he found more and more time to dwell and sometimes even to brood.

And of course as people in such a position also do, Senri promised that he would be better to his family when he got out of this mess. Not that he was not sincere. Anyone who knew him could be confident that Senri would see such promises through to the end, for Senri, as thought by Tatsumi, was stubborn. One could say that he was as stubborn as they came, and once an idea formed in his head of such magnitude he would never let it go, especially something as serious as his family, and he knew that his quests to be "the most powerful gum leader" had more often than not caused him to be a rather weak father. He realized that he did not even know his children. He could only hope that the gym would not sweep him away, for that would be the only thing that could take him away from his family now if he let it.

Nevertheless, Senri had no doubt that his two children and his wife were right now looking for him. Though part of his pride still wanted to believe he would escape himself, he knew that rescue lay with them now.

They would save him.

"I know they will," whispered Senri.

* * *

JAPANESE PHRASES

_Doushite: Why_


	19. Reason and Emotion

JMJ

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN:

Reason and Emotion

"Pr. Krane?"

Paper flew up from a desk nearly drowned in mounds of more paper. Aside from the computer and a few desk baubles, mostly all that could be seen was a great white and speckled black leaf pile. All the papers had at least something scribbled on it, and there were more than one writing utensils — pens, markers, and pencils — flying about as well. Amidst this disarray, a man with a quite honest face and a pair of glasses, not to mention ginger hair that almost fit the nature of his desk, lifted his head from where he had been hunched over what he had been writing just now, and he looked to the woman at the door, glanced at the papers waltzing majestically to the floor, and then back to the doorway.

"May I help you?" he asked.

"There're three young people at the front desk that want to see you," said the woman as Pr. Krane stood up from his desk to snatch up straighten the escaped papers and place them neatly back onto his desk. "I told them you were busy, but they were quite insistent."

"No, no, you did fine, Sumire," said the professor rather absently. "I'll see them in a moment. Just …" He paused glancing at his desk and frowned. "Let me clean up a bit, and then you can send them in."

"Are you sure, professor?" asked the woman.

"Yes, yes," muttered Pr. Krane, piling more papers as neatly as he could in a fast amount of time. He organized some of them into specific piles, but many he merely trashed under the desk or shoved into a drawer. What was left he placed under a paperweight with a fern inside an amber dome. "It's fine. You said they were young people, didn't you? If they came specifically to see me, it's probably worth my time at least to hear them. It could be news of Jyou."

"There's a paper behind you, professor," said the woman politely.

"Hmm?"

The professor spun around, grabbed the paper from the floor and crumpled it into a ball to toss it into the trash can. Then he turned to the woman with a heavy breath of momentary accomplishment.

"Okay," he said. "You can send them in now."

The woman nodded, and withdrawing from the room, closed the door to the office behind her.

Sliding back into his swivel chair, Pr. Krane glanced at his computer screen at the supposedly secure websites that he had hacked into for his work. Had Sumire noticed? Even if she had, she probably would not have said anything. She probably would not have even known he had been hacking into enemy territory, but these times were becoming desperate. He had suspected something awry in the Orre Region, and he had been correct about the Shadow Pokémon. Jyou had months ago already took off for Kanto to rally a few other trainers to stop the madness in that region where it seemed to be bigger, but something was still awry in Orre.

_With that man last night …_ he started to think, and was just going on with that line a little longer when the knock arrived at the door.

Quickly, he closed out of his work on the computer, threw most of his writing tools back into a pencil holder which had been tipped over by the tidal wave of paper earlier and now he set upright.

"Come in," said the professor.

Lastly, he straightened a bauble on his desk and pushed back his hair a bit, so that by the time the secretary opened the door for the guests, he looked to be rather organized and tidy, especially if one did not look down and notice the pieces of crumpled paper that had missed the wastebasket.

Straightening his shirt a bit, Pr. Krane stood up from his chair with an amiable smile. And he did have a very pleasant smile to look upon. The moment the three guests looked up at him he held out his hand to the youngest in greeting.

The boy shook his hand and after the professor's introduction and hello, the boy replied that he was pleased to meet him, and he introduced him to himself, Haruka his sister, and Musashi his …

"Well, I'm Musashi!" exclaimed Musashi with a strange laugh.

"Pleased to meet you all," said Pr. Krane, and pointing to the back of his office, he showed them all a place where they could sit at a table and discuss what they needed to tell him.

Musashi still looked rather uncomfortable about the introductions for some reason but the other two sat down immediately as Pr. Krane invited them.

Once everyone was settled, the professor asked, "You're from out of the region, aren't you?"

"_Hai_, we are Krane-san," said Haruka. "We're from the Kanto Region."

"We came about the shadow project," said Masato.

"And our dad!" exclaimed Haruka. "He was kidnapped by Team Rocket!"

Masato nodded.

"Senri," gasped Pr. Krane. "You're Senri-san's children! Yes, I heard that Senri disappeared, and I've already discovered that he had been kidnapped by Team Rocket. The authorities are all on it, but why on earth do you think they brought him here to the Orre Region?"

"Well …" said Masato.

Again Musashi squirmed uncomfortably in her chair.

"First of all _she's_ not related to us," said Masato glancing at Musashi.

Musashi only glared, not liking his tone, but not denying anything.

"And we found out from Team Rocket themselves," Haruka cut in, "that they took him here, because he knew stuff about the shadow project!"

Pr. Krane shook his head slowly with worry and not a little sympathy.

"_Nani_?" asked Masato.

"If he really is here," said Pr. Krane, "you really have not a moment to spare. If Jyou was here, I'd send you right away with him, but things as they are, this will have to be taken with a bit more preparation."

"Do you know where they are?!" cried Haruka.

A thought occurred to Musashi, and she looked suddenly quite livened from her near lethargic state upon sitting down.

"Do you know where their base is?!" gasped Musashi.

"Yes, I do," said Pr. Krane, and he paused a moment before adding, "at least I assume that I do. There will be, I know, some agents at the old Cipher Lab in the desert. Even if their main base isn't located there, they will certainly be there to take advantage of the equipment, and I know for a fact that they are working alongside Cipher on this project, and the testing is over. They are ready to put their plan with the shadow agents into action."

"What plan!?" Musashi demanded, beginning to lose patience.

Contorting features on her face pulled together, and she shook with anxiety.

"Calm down, Musashi," said Pr. Krane calmly.

"Everyone keeps saying that!" Musashi cried, throwing her arms up in the air, "but I want to know how to rescue Kojiro. _IMA_!"

She moaned heavily and slumped forward in her chair with hands now rummaging through her hair.

"We'll find him Musashi," Haruka promised. "Really we will. Please don't be like this."

"I can't help it," Musashi sobbed; though, she tried considerably, and did a relatively good job. "What does it all mean anyway? What is happening here? What is a shadow agent?"

Masato shrugged, but even he looked rather worried by this time. "Isn't it obvious? They're like shadow pokémon only they're human beings."

"I will help you to save your father and your friend," said Pr. Krane, "even if all I can give is information. Our Orre HQ lab is working on the situation with the human shadow project right now, and even though our expertise is with pokémon, not with humans, we will do what we can."

He paused a moment to rise from his chair and he pointed to a circled spot in the desert on a map on the wall. Looking rather ponderous, he then turned back to his guests.

"How do you know all this?" asked Masato, adjusting his glasses. "And why hasn't anything been done about it if it's all so serious."

He looked to the professor with just the slightest skepticism, but this skepticism delighted rather than annoyed the professor, who loved to see thinkers young or old.

"We did not realize the full seriousness of this or where to begin until just this morning," admitted the professor.

"This morning?!" gasped Haruka.

"Yeah!" agreed Masato. "What happened this morning?"

Musashi only fidgeted with impatience.

After he cleared his throat, Pr. Krane said, "The night before last a man was found by the authorities. A man that I'm not unaware of too who at one time worked for Cipher with the old shadow project. He had been torn apart."

"Literally?" asked Musashi with a cringe.

"Not physically," said the professor, blinking strangely a moment before he continued. "His mind had been damaged severely. A friend of mine, who is an expert on the effects of outside sources on the human brain, went to see him the next day. After a thorough investigation, he, eh, Dr. Izumi, is his name. found that it had all been done quite on purpose by somebody, or least someone had changed him was on purpose, for the process had not gone the way it had been supposed to, he did not think. The authorities thought this all may have had a connection with the many people disappearing from Pyrite Town. But the next thing Dr. Izumi discovered was from the man himself who, though rather delirious, now said that he wanted to destroy the shadow project. Things then linked together for my friend, and he brought me into the situation early this morning. The man was more awake by that time, and the authorities were reluctant to allow us to bring him here to the lab, but in the end they allowed it only with a police escort. And yes, it is the shadow project. Shadow agents. They man himself told us many things about the project, though much of it cannot be proven. I'm pretty sure we can trust him on certain fact, however: that he escaped somehow after being referred to as a failed specimen, that the person experimented on close to the same time as he had been had been a success. With a little … _hem_, research of my own, I discovered that Team Rocket is undergoing the process of making their first true shadow agent now, and—"

"Musashi?" asked Haruka.

"_Ne_!" cried Masato. "Where're you going?"

Neither pause nor answer did Musashi grace the others with as she bolted upright from her chair, and snatched the map from the wall.

Before anyone could stop her, she pushed out of the office and ran with all her might.

"_Chotto matte_! Musashi!" Haruka called. "Wait!"

Pr. Krane stood up now too as did the children, and all three chased after Musashi, but she did not stop. She burst out the front doors, and as the professor, Masato and Haruka burst outside, it was only in time to see her taking a jeep that someone just happened to be parking, and she threw money out to the person she had convinced out of the vehicle.

"I'll pay you more for it later!" Musashi snarled. "I'm not stealing, okay?! I'm not a thief! I'm getting Kojiro and that's final!"

"Musashi!" called Haruka and Masato, but though Haruka ran a few more steps, she knew it was far too late to stop Musashi as she drove out from the drive in front of the lab.

With a wild screech, Musashi drove out toward the desert without once looking back.

"So whadda we do now?" Masato wanted to know, and he crossed his arms as the jeep turned out of sight.

"We follow her!" said Haruka. "She can't go to the Cipher Base by herself!"

"Especially in an emotionalistic state like that," Masato muttered closing his eyes thoughtfully.

"That's why we gotta follow her!" cried Haruka, and she turned to look at the professor. "Isn't there something we can do?" Here she sighed. "I wish Satoshi was here."

Pr. Krane smiled. "I think there is. I know a couple trainers who may be able to help. We may not be the Kanto Region, but we have our fair share of experts, who may help."

"Not the police?" asked Masato.

"The authorities out here don't have the numbers or the means to take on Cipher and Team Rocket together very easily. That's why they haven't already, but follow me, and I'll show you who can help you, and if you're trainers as well …"

"I am, and my sister's a coordinator," said Masato.

"Of course with your father being a gym leader," said Pr. Krane with a nod, "Then this should work out alright."

#

A soft breeze carried over the crystal lake. Gentle waves pulsed along the shore with its rolling sound and its echoes of a silly little boy shrieking with delight at a polliwag baby popping up out the water almost close enough to catch, or leaping over the rope swing into the water, or sailing with Grammy and Grampy on the boat to the island where one could spend a lovely afternoon. The smell of fireworks came to Kojiro on the earthy, lake breeze reminding him of summers gone by at certain festivals when a whole display of fireworks lit up the other side of the lake from the town beyond. Though most of the time, Grammy and Grampy took him there to see them first hand, he could recall a summer or two when they merely watched them over the lake. That had had a pleasure all its own.

As Kojiro opened his eyes and lifted his head up to the top of the steep hill, he looked at the summer home. Nyaasu had not exaggerated its fortress bearing, and indeed he and Nyaasu had seen it long before even the sight of the lake had come into view. The spires and gables had poked out over the trees from the structure's perch on the hill like majestic sentinels.

Climbing up the hill with Nyaasu close behind, he remembered another more recent time when he had come here. He almost felt like that Team Rocket agent sillier than the little boy before him. His sick chimecho held tightly in his arms as he ran to the top of the hill, and his teammates making it so difficult for his conscience to stand being there once they made it inside this place where he was still assumed to be a good, young man instead of being worse than a wild teenager as an evil agent who had joined at the age of nearly sixteen.

How much can change over such a little time. As when he was eight he never would have imagined himself in a biker gang at age thirteen or a getting a koffing for practically a graduation present after having finished his Rocket training with Musashi just before his seventeenth birthday, he certainly could not have imagined himself trying to escape Team Rocket so that he could live in peace with his new family, not when he had left his chimecho here the first time and had been waving goodbye from the hot air balloon thinking that he would someday get Chimecho back and that he and Musashi would still be full agents and maybe even promoted by then.

Funny how that worked out. It made Kojiro smile rather than feel down as he came through the open front gates. He knew now that he would not have traded his new chance at life for anything, and soon all the trauma he had just faced recently with Team Rocket would all be over.

It practically already was, and Kojiro said so with a sigh of deep relief as he rubbed his now freed wrist. The ID had broken off with ease once the crack had been formed.

Nyaasu seemed to have his mind a similar page, as he leapt onto Kojiro's head and said lightly, "Nya … Remember how horrified you were when they asked if Musashi was your wife, nya?" Nyaasu giggled. "And n-yow! Just look at you!"

Rolling his eyes with some embarrassment, Kojiro decided it best to ignore the cat and knock on the front door instead.

Stepping back, he waited a moment or two.

"Ny-othing, nya," said Nyaasu.

Kojiro tried again and rang the enormous doorbell too, but still nothing.

"Hmm," mused Kojiro looking down at Nyaasu. "They're probably in the greenhouse then, or out for a walk."

"Or in town," suggested Nyaasu with an outstretched paw in front of Kojiro's face.

"Well, then we can just wait for them," said Kojiro with a shrug, but just as he was sitting down on portico porch next to a pillar, he heard a strange, almost twinkling sound.

"_Chime_!"

"Huh?" asked Kojiro.

"Nrah?" asked Nyaasu.

But before Kojiro could look up his vision was suddenly blocked with a forceful whirl of something over his eyes.

"Nyah!" Nyaasu leapt off his head. "You crazy chimecho, nya!"

"Chimecho!" cried Kojiro with delight, prying the creature's tail off of his head.

He hugged the little head a moment, and allowed the very light creature to catch flight in the breeze again.

The pokémon sang merrily.

"Do you know where Grammy and Grampy are?" asked Kojiro.

But Chimecho was too busy dancing and floating around Kojiro's head to give a decent answer.

Nyaasu shrugged. "It wasn't that long ago since you seen him, nya."

"Hey c'mon," Kojiro replied with only the slightest irritation, but any irritation was quickly forgotten as he remembered his pokémon, especially Gar-Chan who had been in a pokéball for quite some time.

The poor thing had to get some fresh air and a run around. Thus after releasing him, he then had his growlithe on one side, Chimecho on the other, and Nyaasu off to the side shaking his head and crossing his arms. The cat let out a mutter under his breath and smiled mischievously.

Standing up then and jumping from the portico, Kojiro made his way to the greenhouse behind the house, the three pokémon following. Gar-Chan bounded happily to be freed from the ball, Chimecho still sang and danced near Kojiro's head, and Nyaasu followed not far behind, though not without pausing to take in the scent of something quite nice growing on the grounds somewhere. If he was not mistaken, he was sure it was catnip.

Kojiro did not wait long after knocking lightly on the greenhouse's main doors. Creaking open one door, he poked his head inside and saw with a smile that Grammy and Grampy were busily working away among the vegetation. Grampy set up the mist for the plants, and Grammy fed some of the little pokémon who were living in here with the plants, but his eyes did not linger on them for long.

Just beside Grammy to his utter amazement and joy, he saw Bara!

In a baby buggy, he could just barely see the baby, but he knew it was Bara. It had to be her! What other baby would be staying with Grammy and Grampy?

"Bara-chan!" cried Kojiro, throwing open the door so hard that the glass rattled and the pokémon behind him had to leap out of the way in surprise.

Cringing slightly at the sound of the cries, he spun around.

"Sorry," he said to the pokémon.

"Nyaw, just go hug your daughter, nya," said Nyaasu waving his paw inside.

And of course, the commotion had been heard by the old couple who looked up quite startled to see Kojiro in the doorway. They watched silently a moment, though with surprise subsiding as Kojiro ran to the buggy with Nyaasu close behind (Chimecho and Gar-Chan decided to hang out about the greenhouse — Gar-Chan sniffing everything with great interest), and Kojiro did not pause until he leapt at the buggy's side.

Bara looked up with recognition, and squealed in the usual baby manner for joy.

"Bara-chan," sighed Kojiro, lifting her up from the buggy and gently into his arms. "Oh, Bara-chan, I missed you so much!"

He kissed her and laughed and then kissed her again before simply hugging her warm little body against his chest as coddling as ever a father could, and with one last peaceful sigh, he closed his eyes and smiled with deep serenity.

"Kojiro?"

Kojiro opened his eyes and looked down at the old couple looking back at him with the most confused, wide-eyed expressions. At first he could not figure out why they would be as shocked as they were. Then he noticed the complaints of his daughter, and he assumed it had something to do with his gloves. Taking her into one arm so that he could remove them and merely let them fall to the ground at his feet, he remembered what he was wearing. Even the cap was still on his head. He pushed that off too and returned to Grammy and Grampy uneasily.

"I … I can explain," he began.

But he should have known better than to worry that the old couple thought ill of him as Grampy said quite ardently that yes, Kojiro should. Grammy pulled up a stool and made him to sit down, and that was when he found out what also had given them such concern.

"Where's Musashi-san?" asked Grampy. "Isn't she with you?"

"Musashi?" asked Kojiro, quite confused.

"Think, Kojiro, nya," said Nyaasu with a shrug, and he leaned against Kojiro's stool. "I thought that was why Bara-chan was here, nya."

Grammy nodded to Nyaasu and then returned to Kojiro.

"Musashi left Bara-chan here to go look for you," she said.

"She did?" Kojiro squeaked.

Bara began to complain a little again, and he resituated her for a more comfortable position and in a manner that would keep him from holding her too hard in his uneasiness.

Some of the pokémon which Grammy had been feeding also began creeping up again asking for her to continued feeding them, which he did solemnly, with her eyes to the ground.

"Well, why didn't you try to stop her?" Kojiro demanded.

"Nothing we could have said or done would have changed her mind," said Grampy.

"N-yeah, you kn-yow Musashi better than anyone else, nya," said Nyaasu with a shrug,

Glancing down at Nyaasu sourly, he muttered, "Nyaasu, you're not helping."

"Nya …" Nyaasu sighed rather mournfully.

"We couldn't have stopped her from going to find you any more than we could have stopped you from going back to Team Rocket when you left Chimecho with us," said Grammy. "And trying to find a husband is a lot better cause."

Although it made him feel pretty low to think it, he could not help the sudden surge of irritation and even anger toward them. Did they try to do anything to stop anything?! Kojiro felt the scowl in his eyes, but they softened as the old couple looked up at him as they did with such sorrow.

He could not stay angry with them, especially about Musashi. Nyaasu was right. No one could stop Musashi once her mind was set, and when Kojiro had been gone for so long and had not even called …

"Musashi," said Kojiro, squeezing his eyes shut. "I should've known she would've tried to find me herself."

The beautiful, soft face of Bara greeted him when he opened his eyes, and after lingering on her wide blue eyes, he returned to the old couple and murmured an apology. Then he growled sulkily.

"Oh, she could be anywhere now," he said. "How can we find her? Did she say when she'd be back? Did she say anything at all?"

"She said," explained Grampy, "that you went to find your pokémon which had been stolen by Team Rocket and that she was going to go hunt you down before you got into deep trouble if you weren't already."

"That sounds like Musashi, nya," Nyaasu said with a nod.

"She also said that we should tell your parents about it," added Grampy after a moment of reflection.

"Nyah?" asked Nyaasu with a surprised cock of his head.

"Yes, Nyaasu," said Grammy, now having finished with her feeding the pokémon and taking her own seat on a small chair which she pulled from not far away, "Jiro-san and Mako-san are having the whole region and beyond scoured for Kojiro right now."

Kojiro hesitated. "They are?"

"Are you that surprised, Kojiro, nya?" asked Nyaasu. "I'm only surprised that they didn't send an army after you."

The old couple smiled.

"Well," said Grampy, "actually, they almost have."

Nyaasu blinked a moment, and Kojiro with a heavy groan leaned his head over Bara.

"Oh," said the cat. "Nyah."

When Kojiro lifted his head again, he asked, "Can't they go find Musashi?"

After a moment of silence, Kojiro rose to his feet.

"I'll go find her now," he said, fear rising as his mind went over all the things that could happen to Musashi. "I gotta find her!"

She would not be controllable. She may be caught by the police, or forced into service at Team Rocket, or sent into the team war, or—

"Kojiro!" snapped Nyaasu.

Kojiro blinked out of his frantic thoughts, and glanced again at Nyaasu.

"Kojiro, two things," said the cat holding up the appropriate fingers as he closed his eyes rather prominently before clearing his throat. "One, your freaking out your daughter" (she was starting to cry — much to Kojiro's dismay) "Two, that's a horrible idea! You just said so yourself that Musashi shouldn't've gone looking for you, nya! Musashi can take care of herself."

"Nyaasu's right," said Grammy.

"She may come here looking for you even a day after you leave," added Grampy.

"And you wouldn't even know," said Grammy.

Meanwhile, Kojiro tried to calm Bara down, but Bara seemed most upset now, and there was no stopping her without her mother.

Oh, how the child needed her mother!

This was awful.

With a slow gulp, Kojiro looked at Grammy and Grampy and said, "I'll go to my parents' house, and tell them I'm okay. Then I'll … I'll tell the police to stop looking for me and start looking for Musashi." He lowered his head in defeat. He knew the old couple was more than right in this instance, however it pained him, however it killed him. "And … I'm taking Bara too!" he said this last part with the most resolution, and Grammy and Grampy heartily agreed.

#

Bara was falling asleep in the baby pack on Kojiro's back. Before he left the summer home into town for the bus, Kojiro paused to reach for two pokéballs at his belt.

"Here," he said, handing them to Grampy.

"What are these?" asked Grampy.

"A growlithe and a harflame," said Kojiro. "The growlithe may have a home. I don't know, and the harflame … don't let her out just yet, uh … I'll tell you about her on the phone after I'm home. She's … well, if you know what the shadow project is …"

The old couple's eyes widened and they nodded quite in unison.

"We know what it is," said Grammy.

"We may not have the ability to cure her here," said Grampy.

"Then who does, nya?" asked Nyaasu.

"Only the Orre Region has the capability of curing a shadow pokémon," said Grampy.

Kojiro thought a moment, and then said, "Then could it be possible to send her there?"

"Of course," said Grampy with a smile. "And we'll also try to find a home for the growlithe."

"Right away, Kojiro-san," said Grammy, and the both gave him a polite bow.

Standing with a smile for a moment in silence, Kojiro then said his goodbyes before leading Gar-Chan and Nyaasu down the hill, the smell of last night's, festival fireworks almost gone now in the strengthening wind.

* * *

_**JAPANESE PHRASES:**_

_Ima: now_

_Ne: hey_

_Chotto matte: wait a minute_


	20. Something Like Déjà Vu

JMJ

CHAPTER NINETEEN:

Something Like Déjà Vu

There it was. The Cipher lab.

Musashi dared not get any closer. Cameras could be anywhere, everywhere, and seeing some stranger riding in front of their doorstep in a jeep would not go over well, Musashi had no doubt about that.

Parking behind a sand dune, Musashi crept up for a closer look, peering down at the silent lab as the wind blew sand about it in such a way that the building might as well have been a mirage or a ruin. This could not be a ruin, though. The front doors gleamed and the sand would have buried the front entrance within less than a few weeks the way the great dunes shifted out here. As for it being a mirage? Musashi had seen many strange things caused by hunger, distress, and pokémon poisons and illusions, but she had never seen a mirage that looked like a sinister building, especially a sinister building which happened to be pointed out on a map that she happened to have with her and would have to return or Kojiro's conscience within her would drive her mad!

She sighed.

How to get in?

Musashi glanced around, but nothing immediately presented itself as an answer. Off to the side of the lab stood warehouses, but they were all closed shut. After another pause, however, she decided that they would be worth checking out just in case.

Sliding down the dunes as quickly and quietly as she could, Musashi darted in front of the entrance. Quickly she slunk to the far end of the warehouses, and then she saw that on the far side of the last warehouse was a small door.

Would it be too much to hope it to be unlocked?

Biting her lip a moment and hesitating, she frowned with determination, and reached for the knob.

_This is for you, Kojiro_, she thought and yanked the door as hard as she could.

And with an extra, aggrandized effort she lost balance and fell over when the door would not budge.

"Ack!"

She steadied herself, and tried again.

Nope, it was stuck tight.

She thought a moment and then noticed that this door had an old fashioned sort of lock. No card slot or punch pad presented itself. Only a key hole in the center of a brass circle below the handle could be seen.

Putting a hand to her chin she mused over this and about whether she had any possible tools at her disposal. Her only pokémon was Lickitongue at the moment and he would not do any good with locks. He could not paralyze the door down, and she did not think he could be able to break the door in with brute strength even if he was a rather solid, heavy pokémon. She had no hair pin or clip of any kind that she could stick into the lock. Maybe there was something in the jeep she could borrow.

Thus hurrying back to the jeep with more stealth than she had used since training days to sneak away with other female trainees free bus tickets and lunches, she rummaged through the glove compartment to seek out anything that could be of use. Ah, yes, and she nearly gave out a loud "y_atta!_" of triumph when she found that under the passenger seat was a wad of papers in a hefty paper clip.

Perfect! Now she had to slip back in a great semi circle that was already becoming tedious. When she reached the little door again, she squatted down and put the paper clip in the lock, twisting and jiggling until at last she heard the click. Her key hacking skills had become a little rusty from lack of use, but she could eventually turn the knob.

Standing up, she peered into the darkness, and finding a light switch on the wall, she closed the door behind her.

It did not appear as if anyone had been in here for some time. A slightly stale smell hung in the air, and although this was a sealed enough space for not too much dust to accumulate, in was a bit musty, and the floor had sand grains scattered about near the door and all stretched out to other parts of the warehouse. Some cobwebs lay across the ceiling and in between crates, and Musashi felt almost as if she had entered the tomb of some mummy. Obviously, Team Rocket had no interest in Cipher's old shed stuffs. She just had to be careful of any Cipher booby traps.

Going up to a crate, she tried to pry open the lid, but could not at first. In her frustration, she kicked it onto the floor with her hiking boot, and with a noisy crack, the contents spilled all over the floor.

Just old tools and out of date gadgets now lay at Musashi's feet.

"Hmm," muttered Musashi.

Maybe this place was a waste of time, but she did not give up just yet. There had to be something useful in here.

She broke open a few more crates in a similar fashion as the first. There were some nice things that she would not have minded taking off Cipher's hands had she still be a member of Team Rocket even if they were a bit out of date. Night vision goggles and tiny Star Wars breathing apparatuses could always come in handy in some way or another, even if just to be sold for new gadgets and a good meal. As it was now, of course, she had to pass these things by, for nothing she saw so far would really help in sneaking into the base, and so far she had seen nothing like a descent weapon.

A particularly tall set of metal crates, a little more like a line of lockers than boxes, stood in the corner and caught Musashi's interest enough to have a closer look. She examined them a moment — a very brief moment, for Musashi really had no patience for that sort of thing. After kicking one a few times to no avail and merely ending in hurting her ankle, she then noticed that these lockers each had combination locks, which she also happened to know how to crack. With an ear to the back of one, she twisted and turned for a matter of perhaps near fifteen minutes, then with after a joyous click, she flung open the door.

_Now this is what I need!_ She though.

Cipher uniforms!

Hopefully, they were not too out of date.

She changed quickly and put her old clothes in what looked like a lunch bag of sorts, shaped just perfectly for a bento box, and her clothes just barely fit with a squeeze.

Pulling the helmet visor over her face, she exited the warehouse, and into the blinding light, she made for the front doors of the lab. She pushed them open.

She looked left. She looked right, and a great pout formed on her face.

Throwing her hands on her hips she murmured, "All that work, and no one's around to fool anyway. Hmph."

Oh, well, there would be someone eventually.

Tiptoeing carefully at first, Musashi then quickly remembered that such behavior would be suspicious, Cipher uniform or not. Thus she made her stride casual and straight as she walked as if she knew exactly where she needed to be and even that she happened to be in a bit of a hurry. In doing so she also noticed that her leggings were just a tad too short, and her boots just a tad too tight.

_It will have to do_, she told herself.

Sore feet were well worth Kojiro's safe return!

She walked for some ways with not much to see, and little to tell her which way to go. It was not until she found a door marked "R" that she grew curious, but upon trying it, she found it to be locked. These mechanical doors would not be opened with paper clips either; she needed a card to get in.

How would she get one of those?

Well, she needed people for that!

Preferably, people busy or on coffee break.

"Yeah, coffee break," she muttered, "But where would a coffee room be?"

Looking around, she nothing jump out at her, but as she listened to the hum of the central air, she heard just the faintest murmurs of someone talking.

_That way!_

She swiveled her head in the direction of the sound and marched forward with full resolution. Halls and corridors she passed, all of which were locked. She found a staircase and climbed up it, but when she reached the top, the voices disappeared, and she realized that she either went too far away from the voices or that the talking had ceased. Nevertheless, she kept going a ways. Eyes peeled for any movement, ears stretched as wide as a maril's, and breathing soft yet step still firm, she walked on.

"You."

With a cry, Musashi leapt quite possibly three feet in the air before she spun around to face the silent pursuer that had suddenly come upon her.

It was just a man similarly clad as she was. An agent. Nothing to get too excited about. Maybe grunt was more like it—some kind of cross between an agent and a grunt. She did not think Cipher had an official difference.

"Don't sneak up on a person like that, you nut!" she growled.

"Are you doing anything?" the man asked.

"Uh …"

Was this a trick question?

Did he know? Or at least suspect something?

"I thought so," muttered the man.

Oh, great! He did suspect her!

"I need assistance," said the Cipher agent. "And most other agents are busy right now."

"With what?" asked Musashi suspiciously. She did not forget to at least attempt the Orre Region accent.

"Getting a loose shadow specimen back," said the Cipher agent rather darkly, almost as if regretfully.

"A pokémon?" asked Musashi.

"No."

Musashi gulped. "Well, actually," she said. "I … I was kind of doing something."

"Like what? Come on, it's not like I want to go get some fruit loop reject, but evidence needs to be destroyed. Word has it that he's already been found by more than the police."

Hey, this was starting to sound familiar. That professor at the HQ Lab had told a very similar but much longer story.

Musashi rolled her eyes, an action quite unnoticed behind her visor, especially in the dimness of the corridor.

"Fine," she said. "First I was gunna get some coffee. Wanna come with me?"

"Uh … I guess," said the man a little confused.

"_Ii wa ne_!" Musashi exclaimed merrily, and rolled her hand toward the staircase. "After you!"

"Thanks," grumbled the Cipher agent, and stepping past her a tad hesitantly, he led the way downstairs to a small room.

To Musashi's disappointment, no one else was there. Just she and the Cipher agent who quickly poured himself a mug. One for himself and gentlemanly one for Musashi.

She laughed dryly.

"_Arigatou_!" she said, plucking the mug away, but not without a quick glance at his belt where she could see the hint of a card. Glancing back up to the agent, she smiled graciously and took a sip.

"Who are you by the way?" asked the man. "You sound familiar, but I'm terrible with names."

Luckily, he was not going to start taking off visors; though even then Musashi doubted he really would have thought anything.

"Jeshika," said Musashi, smiling broadly.

"Ooo, literary name," said the agent. "Fits you."

"Heh, I know," Musashi laughed. "How 'bout you?"

The visor hid the fact that all the while, her eyes rested solely on the card and her mind dwelled only on how to obtain it.

She could have Lickitongue lick him and then she could lock him in the closet or something!

Of course, that would limit the time in which she would be able to reach Kojiro.

"Junzo," said the agent.

Blinking back to the agent blankly, she said. "Junzo, how nice."

Her hand went to her belt very slowly and carefully as her hand lifted her mug to her lips.

"Kinda stinks how we have to take orders from Rocketers," muttered Musashi, hoping this might get the guy going in a different direction, not to mention distract his attention from her hands.

"Pfft," grumbled Junzo, "what kind of understatement is that. Team Rocket's gunna take over the world!"

"Hmm, well, it's nice to have confidence in them," shrugged Musashi with a great amount of sarcasm.

"I hear that their leader owns everything in Kanto," said Junzo. "And Johto too."

"Well, I don't know about Johto," said Musashi. "But I know he has some of the gyms in every region on his side, and secret academies for future agents, and stuff like that."

The pokéball was in her hand now.

"Not like they'll need those now," said Junzo.

"Not with what Team Rocket has in store," Musashi agreed.

"Sure," said Junzo. "In that lab down there … It gives me the creeps having to do anything with those Team Rocket scientists. Any moment you think that you might be next."

"But it's for Team Rocket agents, isn't it?"

"That doesn't necessarily mean that Rockets are the only ones they'll shadowize," said Junzo.

"How many have they used from Team Rocket, anyway?" asked Musashi, her curiosity and anxiety had stayed her hand, and she was only clutching her mug now as she stared at the vacant visor in front of her.

"Hmm, as far as I know just those two they brought a few days ago," said Junzo.

"No more?" muttered Musashi. "I thought there was more."

"No, just those two agents that made Team Rocket upset with their failures," said Junzo. "I don't keep track of everything they do."

The disdain in the agent's voice told Musashi she had to hurry before his interest grew stale.

"_Jaa_," said Musashi with a loud yawn as she set down her mug. "This is getting old. Talking about it isn't going to help anything anyway. Maybe I'll go use the toilet and freshen up and stuff before I do anything else, 'kay?"

"'Kay. Meet you at the front, Jeshika."

"Whatever," said Musashi with a shrug and exited the room, but not without slipping the card away, which she only managed to do because Junzo was turning in the just right away and pouring himself some more coffee.

She hurriedly left and hoped he would not noticed before it was too late!

Now she could go to the room with the big "R" on it.

Racing, she reached the door, but the thrill of seeing it open fell short when she saw she had only entered a dormitory.

Musashi let out a loud groan.

For more than ten minutes she paced about, trying to decide what to do next. The agent would not come looking for her if he thought she had to redo makeup or something. Not that female Cipher agents needed makeup with visors over their faces all the time. With a sniff and another groan, she crossed her arms and leaned her back against the wall.

_Now what_? Musashi thought.

A few moment more, she lingered there until she suddenly heard footsteps. At first she feared seeing Junzo, but when she looked only a tall woman scientist with a tight, large pink bun could be seen, and after a contemptuous glance in Musashi's direction, she turned with a huff and paid no more attention to Musashi as she moved on. She was down another corridor, and Musashi thought that following her might be the best chance she would get for a while.

As quietly as possible, Musashi slunk after the scientist. She watched her shadow upon the wall turning another corner, and Musashi stayed far enough behind so as not to look conspicuous. They turned a couple more corridors until suddenly after one corner, the footsteps disappeared.

Musashi jolted to a halt. It was as if the scientist had simply vaporized. Backing up a pace or two, she glanced around and looked up at the nearby door, but the card she used could not access this door. With a scowl, she tried again, but a second time she still could not open it. So backing up a ways into a curved corridor not far from when she had stopped, she found another door. This one was the only one that could be seen in this particular corridor and held a sense of importance about it.

Swiping her card, her fingers danced with anticipation on her free hand.

The card worked, and the doors slid open for her to enter.

Everything was dark at first, and only the faint glow of screens could be seen, but as she turned around a row of cabinets she saw the glow of light in another room where people were talking and the hum of something quite powerful running also came from the open doorway.

Musashi went in the opposite direction, past the desks, and buttons, and computers, and tables. At another small door, she used her card key and entered into a narrow room, quite dark and remote, but there was a faint hum as there was in the rest of the place, and a few computer noises could be heard. She also had this strange feeling that something was alive in here.

A pokémon?

She would rather that was what it was before she turned on the light switch as she closed the door behind her.

No.

Not pokémon.

The very first thing she saw when she turned on the light was a young man. No, this was a kid in a sealed off case and seemingly in a state of suspended animation. It was all she could do to keep from screaming as she stumbled backwards against the closed door. She steadied herself and looked again. It was no one she recognized from Team Rocket. It certainly was not Kojiro, but there seemed to be something not right about him. Perhaps it was merely the hibernation state, or maybe he was a reject like the one that had been found by Pr. Krane and the police.

She gulped, and turned shakily into the rest of the room. Would Kojiro be in here? She dreaded to think it, but she did not see Kojiro here. This young man was not the only one encased in a similar manner; there were two or three more, but none were Kojiro. Even if they had been, however, Musashi for the moment would not have noticed, for there was one person who was not encased, but laid out on a table with wires at the head and a medical sheet covering the body up to the motionless chin.

It was not Kojiro, but Musashi recognized this person instantly, and for a moment the recognition caused her to question consciousness. Instead of freaking out, she just stared blankly in astonishment.

"Yamato?" she whispered.


	21. Girls' Day Out

JMJ

CHAPTER TWENTY:

Girls' Day Out

Carefully, Musashi approached as if nearing a deadly creature that may lash out at any given moment. Even still Musashi could not believe that she was seeing Yamato. She took off her helmet and squinted a moment before setting it down on a counter. Without knowing fully what she did, Musashi did not stop inching forward until she stopped just at the head of the unconscious rival. Leaning down, she waved a hand in front of Yamato's face, but Yamato did not show any sign of movement save for the slow rising and falling of her chest under the sheet.

Straightening, Musashi frowned.

_Serves her right_, a thought struck through Musashi's mind. _After all the trouble she put us through! This is where she belongs! Stupid blond bimbo._

Musashi had a mind to leave her. She actually turned to do so, but before she took more than a step toward the door, she hesitated, fingers twiddling at her sides. In good conscience she could not leave Yamato behind.

_Oh, Kojiro_, Musashi thought miserably. _Look what you've done to me._

However, she knew full well that even in the height of her Team Rocket career, she could not have been cold hearted enough to leave Yamato to this awful fate if it had been in her power to do something. After all those times she said she hated Yamato, and all the times Yamato drove her insane, she would have never wanted her to be left so vulnerable and miserable to be brought down to a state less than the lowest pokémon.

Stepping back to Yamato's side she reached a hand for a wire but again hesitated.

What if she was already a shadow agent?

A fear ran down Musashi's spine, but then another thought calmed her. If Yamato had been shadowized Musashi would simply use Lickitongue the moment she awoke. That was what she would do. Yamato did not have any pokémon. Musashi did not even think she had clothes underneath that sheet. That caused Musashi to shudder and to think that if anyone caught her in here, she would certainly be joining Yamato on one of those tables.

She had to hurry.

Throwing off the wires as fast as she could, and wrenching a lab coat from a swivel chair before a computer, Musashi ripped off the sheet and pulled the lab coat over Yamato's body and buttoned it with haste. Though, buttons can never be buttoned quickly enough, and by the time she reached the last two buttons, Yamato appeared to be coming around.

With a slow moan, Yamato clenched her hands into fists and rolled her head slowly upright as Musashi still held her in a seated position beside her. Musashi almost dropped her back onto the table when Yamato's eyes fluttered open and with a glower focus in directly on Musashi's face. Yamato growled.

"Musashi!" she choked.

"Shhhh! Shut up!" Musashi hissed in return.

Yamato closed her eyes again. "I don't feel so good."

"Come on, we gotta get outa here," Musashi whispered.

"What are you talking about?" grumbled Yamato not being quiet at all.

"I said, quiet!" hissed Musashi.

Pulling a hand to her head, Yamato rubbed tenderly.

"Ug," she murmured. "What are you doing here, and what—" She paused and looked down, feeling at the lab coat. Then clutching it in realization that they were not her clothes and she had nothing underneath, she threw a wild glance around the room and glared quite alarmed at Musashi.

"Come on!" hissed Musashi. "Let's go. Can you walk? Let's go!"

"Quit shoving," grumbled Yamato. "I can walk just fine without your help, thank you very much."

"And be _quiet_!" whispered Musashi. "We're in danger, but if you want to stay here be my guest. I'll leave then."

Yamato sighed as one might to a very obnoxious child. "Would you just shut up, Musashi?"

But at Musashi's name she stuttered a little, for she had managed to stand upright in front of the table, and the moment she did she realized just how unsteady her legs were. Musashi caught her from falling backwards again.

Yamato did not protest. In fact, she looked about to pass out, but Musashi would have none of that as she wrenched the smaller, daintier woman to her feet and pulled her to the door.

"Yamato, come on!" This command was a little louder than she would have liked, but Musashi's patience was wearing quite thin.

"I am!" snarled Yamato, though her voice ended with a croak.

This time, Musashi did not notice the volume of Yamato's voice as she looked instead at Yamato's hair. Her long pigtails had become two snarled gold bushes, and her bangs looked rather ragged. Not to mention that on closer inspection the signs of another hair color showed up where the roots of her hair were edging their way out of her head. Musashi knew she dyed it, but she never knew her hair was a dark green (similar to Kosaburo's but a lot darker, almost seaweed color). Makeup on her face was lacking as well. No one would believe Yamato was a scientist, although the coat proved long enough to hide the fact that that was her only covering. Oh, and there was the fact she had nothing on her feet.

Still …

Leaving Yamato a moment and grabbing her helmet, which she placed back onto her head, Musashi then proceed to take a hair tie out of Yamato's hair. Yamato opened her mouth to yell about it, but quicker than thunderbolt, Musashi had her hand in front of Yamato's mouth.

"You want to get out of here or not?" whispered Musashi.

The glare Musashi received in return, Musashi deiced to take for a yes, and she took out the other hair tie as well. Now, she could not brush Yamato's hair in any way, but she could hopefully put it up in a neat enough bun to have a similar feel about her as one on the head of the scientist who had disappeared on Musashi.

"We have to escape in disguise," Musashi muttered, and she wondered how fully conscious Yamato really was, for she still seemed quite spaced out or at least muddled and disoriented.

Snatching the hair ties away from Musashi in mid bun making, Yamato finished the work, and fluffed up her bangs. She seemed also to be looking for something that she could not seem to locate, but Musashi had no patience for asking what that something might be. Instead, as there were no shoes about, she merely whisked Yamato out of the room and hoped no one would notice her in the as they entered the corridor.

The people talking on the other side of the lab, continued to talk, and Musashi and Yamato slipped down the corridor outside. Musashi kept Yamato close beside her and was most thankful that still no one bothered them, but just as she reached the end of the corridor that would lead them to the front door, Musashi screeched to a halt, Yamato slamming into her back.

Musashi had to hold in all annoyance as best she could, for at the front door, Junzo stood waiting idly for her. At least she assumed it was Junzo. He did say he would wait for Jeshika by the door, and he also might have found out by now that Jeshika had filched his card.

"Oh, great," Musashi muttered under her breath and pulled Yamato back a ways until she felt safe the Junzo would not hear them.

"Do you know another way out of here?" Musashi whispered.

Yamato leered as a response but said nothing.

"A lot of help you are," Musashi grumbled. "Fine, be that way. There's gotta be another way out."

A low growl erupted from Yamato's throat that at first Musashi had to stop and listen to figure out if she was speaking or not.

"_Nanda_?" Musashi demanded.

"You're an idiot, Musashi," said Yamato simply.

Eyes widened a moment in Musashi's head, but she remained calm, as calm as she could be when she felt the impulse to smack Yamato in the face or at least shoot back some remark of her own. It took every ounce of strength to allow Yamato in front to see what she would do, for she seemed to have a plan in mind as she made her way back up to the front.

"Give me your boots," said Yamato before turning the corner to meet Junzo.

"What?" asked Musashi.

"I'm barefoot," Yamato reminded her.

Musashi frowned a moment, but soon relented, leaning against a wall as she removed the Cipher boots and handed them to Yamato who pulled them on with dizzying effort. Musashi held her up to balance her, although she did not seem to appreciate the help much. Then all Musashi could do was watch as Yamato strolled out to the front door directly up to the Cipher agent.

"Peon!" said Yamato with remarkable authority.

The peon looked up in alarm.

With hands firmly on her hips, and a dangerous stance, she said, "Tatsumi-san has requested peon help with his work at his base. I've already sent a few others, and you're to go as well."

The smile on Musashi's face could not be helped, but it did not last long for before the peon moved to exit the door he asked suspiciously, "Who are you?"

Musashi slapped her forehead.

"I've been sent here by request of Dr. Shiranui to Team Rocket Headquarters for more scientists to help in the … uh, _human_ shadowization process. I just arrived yesterday, and I've had to work tirelessly already and haven't had time to spruce back up this morning." She turned away sharply and closed her eyes. "Not that it's any of your business who I am, peon."

Junzo stared a moment, and then said, "Did Tatsumi-san say how long I am to stay with him?"

"It's none of my business," sniffed Yamato. "I just got off the phone with him now, but I don't think he know yet. Just go to his base and do what he tells you."

"Okay …" muttered Junzo, and with a queer frown, he went back into the base.

"Where do you think you're going?" demanded Yamato. "You're to go immediately."

"If I'm staying there a while, I need my things," barked Junzo in return. "And I don't see why every Team Rocket member thinks they have rights to throw us around like we're their pokémon. I work for Cipher, not Team Rocket."

"You wanna take that up with Dr. Shiranui?"

There was an uneasy pause. "No."

"Then get your stuff and get going."

Junzo obeyed grudgingly.

When he had disappeared, Musashi ventured out, and with a smile was about to say something more but decided against it. Right now they just had to hurry to the jeep before anyone else showed up.

Fortunately, no one did. It seemed a little too easy, but the Cipher lab did not seem to be as well protected as Team Rocket Headquarters, and Musashi had been in disguise. Maybe overconfidence had really overtaken this base. Or maybe everyone was just afraid to stand out for fear of becoming a shadow agent. That had to be the only reason Junzo did as he had been told.

"How did you end up in that mess anyway?" Musashi ventured to ask as she started up the vehicle with Yamato slumped wearily in the seat beside her.

"Shut up," grumbled Yamato. "Where are we going?"

"Well, I can't shut up and tell you at the same time, can I?" sniffed Musashi, and she paused. "I could turn you into the police if you're going to keep being so ungrateful."

"Hmm," said Yamato crossing her arms, "and what about _your_ record Musashi?"

"I'm not an agent anymore," said Musashi before she could hold the information back.

"I knew it," muttered Yamato, and she turned to her with mock sympathy. "Couldn't handle it, Musashi?"

"It doesn't look like you could handle it much either," Musashi shot back, but her anger suddenly fell away as she realized the deepness of the situation and what her careless remark really meant.

Yamato had been fired! Or at least had been labeled expendable. Kosaburo and Yamato were top agents. No wonder the agents at Headquarters were so spooked. Anyone could be sent here! Why was Giovanni putting up with this? Whose idea was this?

"Well, that was no fault of mine!" Yamato snapped. "It was that impossible staff we had at the shadow base in the mountains. That's who did it!" He voice had risen near a scream, but once she had finished, she let out a moan, and slumped her head in her arms as she leaned against the door.

Musashi's shoulders slumped, and she looked out at the sand in front her. She had nothing to say for a while, nor did Yamato.

Thus silence reigned for a time. It did not surprise Musashi that Yamato broke the silence when she did, but it did surprise her that the tone with which she spoke was almost soft as she said in a tone that Musashi almost thought sincere, "Kojiro isn't here."

Musashi jumped.

"What?"

"Kojiro wasn't sent to the Orre Region," said Yamato. "We were the only Team Rocket agents who were sent here except Katana, but I don't know what happened to her."

"Katana?" Musashi said and started to ask more, "who's …" She stopped and asked instead, "Do you know where … Kojiro is?"

Yamato sniffed, her tough attitude returning. "No. How should I know? I don't even know how long I was out."

"Then who was the other—"

"Kosaburo! Who do you think, idiot?" snarled Yamato, and she bolted upright. "Stop!"

"What? Why?" demanded Musashi, still not quite recovered from being called an idiot by Yamato. Again.

"He's probably still there," Yamato said.

The jeep came to a screeching halt.

"What?!" Musashi snapped, throwing her head in Yamato's direction. "_He's_ in there being a turned into a shadow agent too?"

"Well, whatever they planned to do to us, we were both gunna end up like that guy he and I saw in the lab!" snapped Yamato.

"I didn't see Kosan— Kosaburo there!" Musashi protested.

"There's a whole lab outside that place I was in, you know?!" Yamato shot back.

"What's that got to do with anything?" growled Musashi.

Then she remembered the voices from the other room, and she felt another shiver down her spine. They may have been in the process of performing something quite diabolical on Kosaburo right then and there, and she and Yamato had not even known it.

With a slow sigh, and closing her eyes a moment, she started up the jeep again.

"I'll go back for him, Yamato."

"You what?" Yamato raised a skeptical brow.

"I promise," Musashi said. "I'll take you into Gateon Port where I have a hotel with some other … uh, people."

"What kind of people?" Yamato wanted to know.

"No one who'll bother you," said Musashi lightly. "But you stay there and rest and whatever, and I'll go back and get Kosanji. I mean, uh, Kosaburo. Your partner."

"You will, huh?"

"_Hai_," said Musashi almost too quietly to be heard. "I promise I'll get him back."

She intended on keeping her word too …


	22. Race Against Shadows

JMJ

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE:

Race Against Shadows

Staring down at the little Cipher peon much like a Team Rocket grunt, Tatsumi crossed his arms and closed his eyes before opening them again to an expression that could only be expressed as looking at someone as if they had just arrived from Mars or maybe even Planet X. He listened to this pipsqueak talk for a moment and then after he had spoken his fill, Tatsumi said simply, "I never called for anyone."

First stunned by the reply, the round open mouth of Junzo slowly turned into a most contorted grimace. No doubt under his visor his eyes would have been blazing.

"That wench …" he hissed. "Both of them!"

He said this clenching his fists together.

"What are you talking about?" demanded Tatsumi with irritation.

"We've been infiltrated!" cried the peon by name of Junzo.

Although a deep frown of his own crossed Tatsumi's face, he made no other indication of being too upset by this remark. Tatsumi had already guessed as much from the moment that the peon began to explain his presence. Besides he could not feel too broken up about any infiltration to this project. How could he? It would give him no greater pleasure than to hear that the top secret shadow agent project had turned out to be an utter failure and that he and Dr. Shiranui were to be sent up to the Northern Region to crush some Polsar bones with old fashioned Team Rocket dexterity and some new shadow pokémon.

Why could not have Buson and Basho been sent to help Shiranui instead? Ah, because Buson and Basho were higher up than he was. They probably knew more about the project beforehand and hated it, and because he once heard anyway that Basho requested from the Boss that he and Buson never work for Shiranui again. As Basho had a way with words he got his way, and Buson's way for him. They were cousins, after all, and quite close having grown up together like brothers, despite how dissimilar they looked.

_Fine then!_

"Well," said Tatsumi with a shrug of his great shoulders. "Someone should tell the doctor."

Junzo gulped. Neither one needed to say which doctor Tatsumi meant.

With a bow of his head, Junzo said, "Tatsumi-san. Please don't make me tell him alone. You know better than anyone what might happen to me if—"

"It's not my fault you were tricked by long wench lashes," scoffed Tatsumi.

"_Onegai shimasu_!" Junzo begged. "Tatsumi-san!"

At this bit of disrespect for his orders as a superior despite the humble appearance of the peon, Tatsumi made a step towards him and looked about to roar with anger, but just as he was about to beat the pipsqueak to a pulp (not necessarily literally), the vid phone in the far, dark corner of the little base blinked on with a message that someone was trying to make a call. Tatsumi paused, glanced at the message a moment, and then with a final warning glance to the peon, he made his way to the phone and turned it on, the screen did not open to the caller but remained a solid, blank screen, but the caller's voice came through. It was no person he cared to see face to face anyway right now.

"Tatsumi," came the oily, sinister voice of Dr. Shiranui.

"_Hai_, Doctor!" said Tatsumi.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the peon squirm.

"You're needed at the Cipher Lab immediately," said Dr. Shiranui; his voice showed no sign of haste, though the mocking humor usually present in his voice was missing this time. That meant something was up, and the sound of some faint explosion in the background confirmed it well enough.

"I understand," Tatsumi told his superior.

"There's been a failure of security here," the doctor explained, "and there are several nuisances already making their way through the pokémon lab. I don't want any of this to reach the public. Kill the infiltrators if necessary. I'll see you shortly."

Dr. Shiranui's voice then was no more, and Tatsumi, turning to Junzo with a sinister smile, said, "Looks like you've been saved the trouble, peon."

"So are we going then?" asked Junzo twiddling his fingers uneasily.

"Yes," said Tatsumi. "The doctor gave orders, but not right away. An apple keeps the doctor at bay." He laughed. "And he's got several good ones to deal with by the sounds of it."

Junzo cocked his head in confusion, and after a moment of silence Tatsumi rolled his eyes. Okay, so he was not good at being philosophical or funny.

"Later!" snapped Tatsumi. "And you're going to help me."

"_H-h-hai_! Tatsumi-san!" said Junzo with a salute.

#

Yamato may not have been married to Kosaburo, she may not have even liked him that much, and their relationship was purely professional. They would not even call their relationship friendship as far as Musashi knew, for they had often in the past made fun of Kojiro and Musashi merely being friends and even caring the little bit they did for each other in between Kojiro complaining and Musashi whapping him over the head in their agenting days. All that aside, Musashi felt that Yamato should have her professional partner even if Musashi could not have her intimate one. Yamato and Kosaburo probably could not be considered professional partners really anymore since Team Rocket obviously found no other use for them besides as test subjects, yet they had nobody else but each other at the moment. Kosaburo had no family that he cared to share anything about and although Yamato did have a brother in Team Rocket, he was just that. In Team Rocket. Even if in the end Kosaburo and Yamato went to prison after all this, they should at least be able to go with the knowledge that their partner was safe.

All this did not go through Musashi's mind when she had agreed to rescue Kosaburo. It had been impulse. She had not thought about it before she said it, but now, though she did have her doubts about going back in unseen, she felt that she had to rescue Kosaburo. Kojiro would have, she knew that. In the old days when she and he were Team Rocket members, Kojiro may have been too scared, and so would she, but living the honest life, Musashi was beginning to find, meant more than merely refraining from stealing and hitting people for minor infractions. It was about putting others first, something she would have in the past scoffed at as being something only goody-two-shoes did, but it was a far braver and therefore probably nobler thing to risk one's life for another, then to risk one's life for one's own future gain.

Parking the jeep a little more hidden this time, Musashi leapt out onto the sand, the Cipher agent outfit complete on her form yet again: boots, visor, and all. She weaved the dunes carefully and sneaked back inside; the place as vacant as before. She slipped past the "R" marked room, and turned some corridors, losing herself once or twice before finding the curved corridor that led to the shadow agent making room.

A deep boom sounded somewhere quite distantly like an underwater explosion.

Lifting her head in surprise, Musashi looked in the direction she thought the sound was coming from, but it could have come from outside for all she knew. It was nowhere near her spot and what she was doing. Maybe whatever the sound was would distract anyone who might come to check on her activities.

Feeling all was well with her mission, she just reached her hand out for the card at her belt when she heard a feminine throat clearing behind her with much oomph.

Musashi spun around.

The pink haired scientist!

"You have, like, some nerve coming back here again, you know that?"

"Yah!" cried Musashi, and trying her best to play her part, she bowed her head low before the scientist humbly and pitifully. "_Gomen kudasai_!"

"Hmph," said the woman. "Some nerve."

With a gulp Musashi lifted her head again.

"You should've at least, like, had the decency to bring the police with you," said the scientist.

"_N-nani_?" demanded Musashi fearfully. "Are you being sarcastic?"

"Duh, no!" exclaimed the scientist, and she lowered her voice after a toss of her head. "I told my brother all about you, and he says that the only way to save Cipher now is to have the Rockets arrested. That's why I let you come in. If I knew you were just some psycho, I would have turned you in to the Rockets, so there."

_Speaking of psychos_, thought Musashi uneasily.

"I came here from the …" Musashi paused trying to remember what the name of lab with Pr. Krane, but hey, who needed the lab when she could tell them about the professor. "I came with some trainers from Kanto to talk to Pr. Krane. They'll probably here, is that enough to save Cipher?" She grinned.

The scientist did not look at all impressed.

"Why do you want the Rockets arrested exactly?" asked Musashi hesitantly.

"Uh, why do you think?" asked the scientist. "They take our lab, trick us into helping them with their stupid shadow agent project, and then threatened that if we don't do as they say we'll all become their shadow agents."

"They did?" Musashi gulped.

"Uh, yeah, totally," said the scientist. "Not exactly outright, but no one threatens me, especially not secretly. Not to mention the fact that the whole shadow agent thing is just disgusting. How is a person supposed to, like, eat lunch with those horrible screams and those relatively good looking guys just threatening you and giving you the evil eye like they're gunna sneak up and murder you in your sleep."

"Don't pokémon look at people like that when you're doing experiments on them?" asked Musashi innocently.

"Not like human beings," said the scientist with another toss of her head. "So, like, _why_ in the world are you here a second time and not with the trainers and Pr. Krane?"

"Uh … cuz I was impatient," offered Musashi.

The scientist glared a moment and then said, "But they'll be here, right?" demanded the scientist.

"Probably," said Musashi with a shrug, "especially since I left without them."

She paused, thinking about the words she just said, and then realized the full truth of her words, but she did not think long before the scientist pushed in front of her and with a flash of her card opened the door for Musashi.

"Then just do what you're gunna, like, do before I change my mind," said the woman.

Musashi stared suspiciously for a moment, but slowly she crept into the lab, watching the scientist all the while for any sudden movements. With a groan, the scientist eventually, lost patience and shoved Musashi inside.

"Hey!" snarled Musashi, shaking her fist. "What's the big idea!?"

Now fully in the lab, the door slid electronically shut behind her, and Musashi was left alone in the dark, and it was very dark this time. No light shone from the other room. No one seemed to be about. Maybe they were already looking for Yamato.

She did not know that in reality, they had just moments before been informed of the attack of four trainers on the pokémon lab.

Looking around carefully, she examined the desks and the counters, the computer screens, the wires and ceiling shafts. She even checked the room in which she had found Yamato, but there seemed no sign of Kosaburo anywhere. Turning slowly, she looked toward the wall and the door-less entryway behind which the light had been on her previous visit. Kosaburo may have been in there.

Slowly inching her way forward, she hunched down below the light of the computers, tiptoeing like a naughty child under the kitchen counter before reaching a hand out for the cookie jar. Then peering around the corner, she saw him instantly and squeezed her eyes shut.

She might not have even known it to be him if it had not been for the unique shade of green of his hair in the narrow light above him. His hair had been nearly shaved off, and a green fuzz remained on his bare head. Carefully opening her eyes again, she stepped carefully into the room but did not lift her eyes to the tube in which Kosaburo's bare body was immersed in a purple, black liquid.

She had anticipated his lack of clothes and had come prepared with a cheap robe she picked up from Gateon Port before coming here, but she had not anticipated the tube. How could she get him out of this?

A small control box stood at hand. The levers and buttons all looked confusing, but she had to try something and fast too. The sound of the door opening on the other side of the wall had to hasten things alone.

_Of course_, thought Musashi blowing a loose strand of hair from her face quite annoyed.

Fine then, she just started pressing buttons. A humming grew louder, bubbles erupted from the liquid, the humming stopped, bubbles got stronger, the light above him turned off, the light above turned back on and changed color, then the liquid began to descend.

_That's it_! thought Musashi.

She was getting somewhere.

The people on the other side of the door were talking to each other in hushed whispers. She was not sure if it was about the sounds in here or not, the computer hums on the other side of the wall were perhaps too loud for the noises in here to be noticed. She hoped. At least, so far, no one was coming this way.

She turned back to the control pad in front of her, and noticed a very large black one on the side. Would that one open the tube?

Kosaburo without the liquid inside was now crumpled against the glass as if dead and would fall right on top of Musashi if the glass sudden disappeared; thus, scooting out of the way as best she could she readied herself to press the button. Then she realized that Kosaburo would just fall on the floor, and whether it hurt him or not it would certainly create unwanted noise. With a gulp, she retuned back to her original position and opening her pack, she pulled out the robe, and spread it out in front of her to catch him. Then squeezing her eyes shut and bracing herself for Kosaburo's fall, she pushed the black button with her elbow.

Nothing happened.

Opening her eyes, she glared at the control pad and bit her lip.

One of them had to open the tube!

Throwing her hand over the controls she slammed her fist on them all, and with a small suction sound, the tube suddenly lifted; though as Kosaburo, breaking free from the wires that had been attached to him, fell into the robe in front her, more liquid also come out, and she barely managed to scramble away with the sudden heavy weight upon her to not get touched by the liquid.

"What was that?" someone asked.

Musashi stifled a squeak of alarm and pulled Kosaburo behind a counter frantically. She tugged on the robe and tied the sash around Kosaburo as fast as she could and just as the running footsteps reached the tube.

One of the people turned off the liquid and muttered something to his partner.

Shivering from head to foot, Musashi tried to think of a way out of this mess while at the same time trying to push away images of prehistoric reptilian creatures hunting down two children in a fancy kitchen. All thought broke too soon however, with the faint sound from Kosaburo, who was slowly waking up.

"Not yet," Musashi whispered below the computer hums and the central air system.

"Where is he!?" gasped another voice.

"Someone let him out, and they're still in here!" growled the first voice. "You hear that, we know you're in here!"

"I'll kill you, Namba," Kosaburo croaked like on in a deep sleep, and he began to stiffen and to shake; though, his eyes were still tightly shut.

"Shh," Musashi whispered. "Shut up."

"I won't forget …" said Kosaburo in the same almost inaudible tone as before. "I won't forget."

Footsteps began to move forward caring vigilant eyes and minds.

She squinted.

"Kosaburo," she whispered frantically.

Wrong thing to say, even if she had called him correctly. The instant she said his name, his eyes opened, and Kosaburo began to growl with a low, dangerous animal-like intensity.

"I heard something," said one of the people who had come in.

Throwing a look around her, Musashi's eyes fell upon the only thing at her disposal: a swivel chair. At first, she thought to throw it at them, but she decided instead that it would be better to ram them with it. Maybe it would be even better to ram them with it as her and Kosaburo's getaway car.

With a forceful effort, she managed to pull Kosaburo up into the chair with one painful motion. The two Cipher-clad people saw her immediately, but as Musashi retied Kosaburo into the chair with his sash like a seat belt even as the flashes of pokéballs entered the scene, Musashi wasted no more time and pushed forward with all her might, ramming past the guards as the pokémon fully emerged.

Although rather startled, the male and female agents spun around and soon chased after the crazy woman and the stolen human experiment. They yelled out commands to their pokémon, but their shadow attacks just barely missed as Musashi and the chair turned to corner. At the door, which could only be opened with the swipe of a card key, Musashi released Lickitongue and screamed for him to attack as she swiped the card.

The doors opened and poor Lickitongue was flung over her head and against the wall in the corridor.

That had not worked out too well, but at least it had caused a distraction. She returned Lickitongue and ran along the corridor as fast as she could, Kosaburo still on the chair, though slumping now, as she neared the entrance.

The closer she got, the more she realized that commotion did not just come from behind. Though shadow attacks licked her heals, she saw that up ahead it seemed as if a pokémon battle raged just in front of the door. As she turned that last corner, she saw that her presumption had been correct.

A trainer she did not recognize with a squirtle and a very large donphan at his command against several Cipher peons and their pokémon. Fortunately for the trainer the peons pretty much stunk in regards of battling, unfortunately for Musashi, the trainer took a moment to notice her and her passenger. Immediately an idea formed in the trainer's mind, and Musashi could see by the look on his face that it was not a good idea in her regard.

She could have given herself up, of course, and explained later. Or maybe even helping the trainer to defeat the peons with her Lickitongue might gain something for her side, but old habits die hard as the saying went. With a determined growl she made to attempt to push past the peons, the trainer and all toward the door. This would have been a complete failure, but she did not see the fruits of her mad, impulsive plot, however, for at that moment the peons behind her and whom she had nearly forgotten about, now made their appearance on the scene and were double surprised to see the trainer and the fight going on. Most of the previously fighting peons had run out of pokémon, and as these new peons' shadow pokémon leapt into action, snarling furiously, the trainer turned to these instead to block the attacks with his donphan and squirtle.

Musashi had this only chance to escape, and she took it.

Diving out the doors, she pushed the swivel chair out onto the platform in front of the base. Finally outside, she was so exhilarated in the triumph of this feat that she did not think about the little wheels under the chair and the great sand mound on the other side of the platform. As she rammed forward in the direction of her hidden jeep, she suddenly felt a lurch, and with a cry, she stumbled forward as the chair jolted to a halt and both she and Kosaburo fell face first into the sand.

With a loud moan, Musashi picked herself up and looked up to Kosaburo, moaning, shaking, and growling unintelligibly. The chair had fallen on his back, and Musashi quickly untied the sash which attached him to it and threw it off of him before dragging him behind the nearest hump in the sand. Kosaburo was not at all cooperative in this regard, and thrashed his hands now and then, and snarled about how he would kill her when he got the chance, or maybe he was talking to someone else like Dr. Namba again.

"Sure, later," muttered Musashi. "Just stay there, and I'll pick you up with the jeep in a minute, okay? _Ne_?"

She then raced to the hidden vehicle starting it up quickly and driving back for Kosaburo. Already someone was coming out of the base to investigate the strange occurrence with the peon and the swivel chair, but Musashi did not wait long enough to even tell if it was the trainer or another peon or someone completely different. She dropped out of the jeep, and wrenched Kosaburo into the back seat as well as she could, buckling him in. Leaping back into the driver's seat, Musashi then backed up and drove for civilization and leaving the Cipher Lab far behind.

She had not gone unnoticed, as had already been stated, but the quickness of the aerial attack of two shadow pokémon from above certainly gave her a start. A fearow and spearow were aiming shadow attacks for Musashi, and as if bombs were being dropped around her, she nearly found the jeep toppling over as she let out a scream. Wrenching the steering wheel as hard as she could, she just barely managed to keep the vehicle under control as she drove closer and closer to town.

If only they could make it fast enough.

That was when she noticed Kosaburo.

He may have been more physically awake, but he seemed no more mentally conscious of his actions then before. His appearance reminded Musashi of a confused and very angry pokémon quite fed up with the commotion around him, and deciding that the only way to make the noise, the bumping, and the explosions stop was to leap right out of the jeep, which he at that moment, with robe blowing about him and face colorless and wild as if he were a specter, a ghost of some ancient madman, he stepped up to the door and looked about to leap any second.

"No, stop!" cried Musashi.

But Kosaburo did not hear her.

"Stop! You moron! _Yamero_!" She paused, as it dawned on her what she should say. This was Kosaburo! With a smile she sang at the top her lungs, "_Ne_! KOSA-A-A-ANJI!"

After another lurch of the jeep and another fired attack, Kosaburo spun around, and the look on his face made Musashi wonder for a second or two if it would not have been better to let him jump. Like a goblin he leap back into the jeep, with a sickening snarl, he lunged for the front, his hands reaching for Musashi as if to strangle her. Instead he merely grabbed Musashi by the helmet, but even that was scary in itself, and Musashi would have been helpless to save herself even if she had not been trying to drive at the same time.

"Stop!" begged Musashi. "Kosaburo! Please! Listen!"

"Kosanji …" growled Kosaburo quite insanely, "Kosanji! Kosanji! KOSANJI! _KO-O-OSA-A-ANJI-I-I-I_!"

He banged her head against the steering wheel, and it was the only time Musashi was truly thankful that Cipher agents wore helmets instead of masks or concealing hats, for she surely would have passed out as a result and possibly even have her head damaged.

Somehow managing to once again keep the jeep from crashing, Musashi then reached for her belt as Kosaburo began to smack her head against the steering wheel again.

Lickitongue emerged and thankfully had been shaken rather than truly knocked unconscious by the collision against the wall in the corridor.

"Lick!" screamed Musashi, and her head hit the steering wheel again, the horn honking.

Understanding the urgency, Lickitongue spat out his tongue and gave Kosaburo's face a deep, slobbery lick.

All anger washed out of Kosaburo's now stunned face, and he dropped into the back seat completely numbed and shaken.

Musashi could only sigh with relief as she looked back at the paralyzed figure sprawled out behind her, but there were still the shadow pokémon to contend with. She glanced to Lickitongue now in the passenger's seat beside her before returning to the front and muttered, "Note this down, Lickitongue. Never call Kosaburo anything but his real name ever again …"

"Licki!" agreed the pokémon with enthusiasm.

Glancing behind her, Musashi could still see the fearow and the spearow and both looked as angry as ever, but Musashi saw that they must be wearing out somewhat. All those shadow attacks probably took a lot out of them even if the rage could potentially keep them going far longer than an unaltered pokémon would be able to. The heat probably was not helping either, and Musashi was pleased to see that they were no longer gaining on the jeep. By the time the nearest town came into view, the pokémon had stopping chasing her as far as she could tell, and Musashi with another sigh of relief far more purposeful than the first drove into town but too late to escape the police jeeps already coming out to meet her.

That must have been what had caused the peons to call their pokémon back; though how they called them back, Musashi could not be sure, unless the pokémon really did just run out of energy and drop in the desert somewhere. Nevertheless, Musashi had to admit that in a way she was glad to see the police, even if they did intend to arrest her the moment they saw how she was clad. She would clear things up soon, though. Even if she had to wait for Haruka to back her up, she would not be in the mess for long.

JAPANESE PHRASES:

_Onegai shimasu: please (formal)_

_Gomen kudasai: sorry (formal)_

_Yamero: stop_

_Ne: hey_


	23. Shadow Agent

JMJ

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO:

Shadow Agent

At first it proved pretty easy. Haruka had to admit she could not be too surprised. Grunts never were hard to beat, and these Cipher peons were not much different from any other team underlings as far as pokémon battles were concerned. With Masato, Jovi, and Jovi's friend Yojiro everything was going rather smoothly.

Of course, seeing the poor pokémon on the pokémon side undergoing the tortures of the shadow project had to be stopped the moment she saw it. She and her brother smashed the machinery and released the half shadowized pokémon. She was going to release the full shadowized ones as well, but Jovi stayed her hand with a firm though sad shake of her head.

"They have to stay in pokéballs until they can be brought back to HQ," Jovi told her.

Haruka nodded.

So they grabbed as many pokéballs as they could, and with the help of their own pokémon, they plowed through the angry peons some more. They're battling skills did not stand a chance against the well trained Glaceon and Raichu on Haruka's side, nor the ponyta and the manectric on the side of Jovi.

Masato and Yojiro made it out trying to find the other lab, but the girls did not hear from them after they disappeared.

It was just as Haruka began to wonder how her brother and Yojiro were getting along and feeling confident that she and Jovi almost cleared through the pokémon belonging to the Cipher peons when suddenly a loud, painful, electronic screech sounded from above them.

Everyone, trainers and peons alike and their pokémon, all stopped and cringed at the spine tingling noise. As it cleared, which it did rather shortly, the voice on the loudspeaker that replaced it sent a shiver of a different kind, for the oil that dripped from it and the darkness that radiated from it seem to envelope the whole area in a tighter, colder space.

"Congratulations, little trainers," said the voice. "The worthless Cipher peons are defeated. Every other peon still remaining with pokémon is hereby ordered to stand down."

Some of the peons looked rather disappointed. One or two looked relatively relieved. All of them however looked quite resentful about being called worthless.

Then as Haruka and Jovi exchanged glances, the voice continued.

"Team Rocket will take it from here."

The loudspeaker crackled off, and for a moment silence reigned. Then Haruka noticed the hum of machinery, and not long afterwards the walls came down around them. Emergency security no doubt in purpose, Team Rocket used them now to cage the infiltrators. Only a balcony high above seemed to have any means for escape, but the ladder to get to it was soon to be blocked. As the Cipher agents backed away a trap door in the floor revealed another man. A rather scary man with very dark leering eyes and a curled lip like that of a deranged animal. Haruka did not have to think long to know that this was a shadow agent.

She could not help but think as well what a complete waste a shadow agent was. After all, no matter how dark, scary, and focused the shadow agent was, if his battling lacked what good was he really? What Team Rocket and any pokémon team really needed to do was to train their pokémon and train their agents how to battle correctly, or even just how to use simple weaponry, but of course, they wanted to do things their own way by having complete control over all life they had under their command.

The shadow agent released his pokémon. A dragonite and a weavile. Both of which were rather strong pokémon by nature and both no doubt were shadowized as they shared their master's dark leer, but it still did not prove the point of a shadow agent. Such a waste, such a sad, sad waste of life.

Fear ran up her spine.

Musashi feared that this would happen to Kojiro; that in itself was an eerie thought, a shadowized Kojiro. But what Masato had feared caused Haruka to stagger. Seeing a shadow agent before her, she suddenly felt the full realization and possibility of something similar happened to her father, and perhaps that was the only point of the shadow agent aside from controlling the agent in question. It was fear: the fear of facing an opponent which one would become as well if one lost.

"Dragonite, shadow leer all. Weavile, shadow claw the first in your path."

His voice sounded dead, but the words sunk in more than the voice.

That broke Haruka out of the spell instantly, but Jovi was already on top of it, calling for both Ponyta and Manectric to attack the opponents' pokémon. Then she realized the full game scheme for just as she was about to order her own pokémon to attack, she felt the shadow leer wash over, and all, even the peons who had been foolish enough to remain.

Terror overtook the girl as leer ought. She had used pokémon attacks on people before, and so did many when there seemed no other way to stop madness, but she had a feeling that this would not end in merely blowing them away or capturing her and Jovi. This battle would be to the death or to the shadow agent. Both she and Jovi were as muddled in uncontrollable fear as their pokémon, and of course now they would not battle right. Even Weavile looked slightly affected by the leer, looking a bit shaking, and rounding his partner with skepticism, he then lunged to swipe with claws poisoned with the shadow juice at Ponyta. The only living thing in the room aside from the dragon-like creature which had not been affected was the shadow agent himself who stood now like a zombie or a vampire and might as well have been one now that terror had taken over.

Maybe even if it had been easier she and Satoshi and the other trainers should not have attacked the humans as harshly as they sometimes had when it was not the only way to get rid of them. She felt remorse at using her pokémon for harm. At this point she even wished she had not been a trainer at all until she remembered she was, after all, a coordinator, which was not battle exclusive, but the fear and agony proved uncontrollable now.

"Thunder!" Haruka shrieked and covering her face away from the leer she cowered down to the ground.

"Rai!" cried Raichu, looking back to his trainer with confusion and hesitation.

"Shadow claw."

Disoriented as both coordinator and pokémon were, it took little effort for Weavile to attack Raichu with a dangerous, long claw.

Haruka let out a scream.

Focused rage would defeat blind fear soon enough.

#

Masato swung his head around. No more peons stood left to battle. They had all either run off or had been left unconscious with their pokémon.

"Is that everyone?" asked Masato glancing to Yojiro.

Yojiro shrugged. "Looks like it," he said. "Come on. Let's go find the lab."

"But you said one of the Cipher agents took somebody outside," said Masato. "Should we follow that up?"

"No," came a voice from behind.

Yojiro and Masato spun around.

The voice had come from a small woman with very thick, curly hair, but Masato gasped more than he would have if it had been the legendary Mewtwo backed by Giovanni or one of his many lackeys.

Yojiro turned to Masato with confusion, but as Masato recovered from the shock, he cried, "Mom?!"

"Your mom?" asked Yojiro.

"Mom?" asked Masato. "What are you doing here?"

His mother shook her head to say that that was not important; though Masato then knew that she had probably come for the same reason as he and Haruka had. They had to find Senri, but before Masato could say so his mother said quite firmly, "We have to save your sister."

"What? Did she get captured!?" Masato cried.

Then he noticed the young man not far from his mother's side. Wild brown hair mopped his head, and his candid, round eyes fell upon Masato.

"You're Jyou, aren't you?" said Masato.

"Of course it's Jyou-kun!" cried Yojiro, who had met and known Jyou in the past, being friends with his sister.

"He's going to help us get in to them," said his mother.

"What?" asked Masato.

Yojiro was just as confused, but neither Mitzuko nor Jyou explained it to them. As his mother began to pull Masato after Jyou who at once took off with a call for forward, poor Yojiro tagged along at the rear. They raced up the stairs as quietly as possible and at the top, they began to slow down.

Here Masato finally managed to ask, "Mom, what's going on? What's happened to Haruka?"

"Is Jovi with her?" asked Yojiro.

"Yeah, mom," Masato agreed. "What happened to the girls, and how did you end up with Jyou-san."

"We'll explain later," his mother promised.

Jyou motioned to a side room and releasing a pokémon, a nyaasu (highly trained), he had her electrocuted the card slot, and the door now short circuited opened. Then shut crazily before opening again at intervals. There was only enough time for one person to slip through at a time. Jyou made Yojiro go first, Mitsuko mother, then Masato, and lastly Jyou himself came though.

"Now," said Jyou in his candid way. "We have to sneak along this balcony, and we'll be able to see the battle from above and stop the shadow agent and his pokémon before he knows what hit him. We got to do it quickly and as quietly as possible. I don't know how successful the shadow agents are, I just got here, but Pr. Krane messaged me about what they were meant to be, and if that guy down there's anything like that, he'll be able to hear us and don't bet he won't take quick action against us if we're not careful."

"They want to heighten their senses or something too?" asked Masato.

"Yeah," Jyou said.

"And Jovi-chan and Haruka-chan are down there with him battling him?" asked Yojiro.

Jyou nodded, and then with a finger to his lip, he said quietly, "Chose your pokémon now, and release them in here so the pokéballs won't be heard. Chose quiet ones, and then we'll go out onto the balcony."

The others nodded.

Masato chose his quilava which being a slippery ferret-like creature would be able to sneak in quietly enough and use a good flame thrower. Mitzuko chose Skitty (she would carry her in her arms), Yojiro had a Gligar, and Jyou kept with his nyaasu.

"Okay," said Mitsuko. "Are we all ready?"

The boys nodded.

"_Jaa, iki masho_," said Jyou.

Using quilava to melt through the door, they slipped out as quietly as possible out onto the balcony.

Masato almost cried out to Haruka the moment he saw her and Jovi down below completely unconscious on the floor with their pokémon in utter confusion and pretty weak as well. The shadow agent was closing in on the girls with his dragonite on one side and his weavile on the other. His eyes like burning coals and his pace reminiscent of an android's with back straight and shoulders back, the agent stopped at the heads of the two girls just as Masato grabbed the rail of the balcony in horror.

The agent stiffened, and everyone on the balcony froze.

Squeezing his eyes shut, Masato upbraided himself for being so stupid and being unable to keep control. Now they lost their element of surprise.

Jyou however, would make do with what they had, and before Masato opened his eyes again, Jyou cried, "Screech!"

Leaping from the balcony Nyaasu obeyed, letting loose a shrill, deafening, teeth-setting screech as directly as she could toward the shadow agent and his pokémon before landing neatly on the floor on her feet. It worked brilliantly too, for the pokémon under direct influence of the attack bent forward in pain of their ears, and the agent himself, although growling with rage could not concentrate on his opponents and had to throw his hands to his ears as well.

The effect of the screech on the balcony proved far less that it was where the pokémon attacked, but it still took a moment for the humans and pokémon to reorient themselves. Quilava used flame thrower on the pokémon, Gligar used poison sting on them. Then Mitzuko grabbed hold of the balcony and sent out Skitty, the little pink cat who scurrying along the arm of the human released the finest ice beam she had used to date, trapping the infuriated shadow agent in a block of ice.

It all ended rather quickly.

Now everyone hurried down to the girls. They seemed merely fainted rather than seriously hurt, but they would have to bring them someplace to rest. Masato instantly informed them of the hotel in Gateon port, but Jyou offered the HQ Lab where his family actually lived in the upstairs apartments for those who worked there (his mother made her living there).

Leaping from Mitzuko's shoulders, Skitty eagerly licked Haruka's face, trying to wake her true owner, for Haruka had only left her to her mother. The nyaasu who had take an instant liking to skitty also had to have a look at the girl to see how she was.

"Well, we'll take Haruka back to Masato's and her hotel room, and we'll call the HQ Lab," Mitzuko was just saying, "and the police, I think, are on their way here, aren't they?" She turned inquiringly to Jyou.

"Skitty …?" moaned Haruka, opening her eyes a little to her pink, furry friend.

"Haruka!" cried Masato, kneeling down at her head.

Mitzuko's attention left Jyou, but he did not answer the question anyway. His attention was on something else completely.

"What?" asked Yojiro.

"The shadow agent," said Jyou very quietly.

Everyone looked. Even Haruka and Jovi in their muddled and weak states lifted their heads.

The block of ice was mostly melted and the agent himself had disappeared.

#

In the gloom of the lab Dr. Shiranui stood, hands behind his back and eyes fallen on the empty tube which had held Kosaburo not long before. The midnight purple liquid in a puddle just before his feet mirrored back a dim reflection of the doctor in the eerie light of the computer screens behind him. He looked not too utterly perturbed as his eyes lingered on the darkness inside the tube, or at least he had lost no composure. For anyone who could have seen him since he began standing there, it would have proven odd for the length of time he had actually spent standing lethargically with the slow blinking eyes of a sleepy slowpoke and the military posture which held the rest of his frame.

The open doorway to the lab had been broken not long before by Jyou who had come in to find the reject shadow agents stored away in the next room beyond. Naturally, he had not been able to take them away, but no one left at the base cared now what happened to them, much less Tatsumi who now entered the scene.

The agent crossed the damaged lab and found Shiranui around the corner at the site of the empty tube, and he was not surprised to see his superior as has been described. Nor would he had been had he been standing behind Shiranui the entire time. Rather it would have surprised Tatsumi if Shiranui had shown any kind of loss of temper or shown a simple growl of rage or groan.

Although, Shiranui did not move in the least at Tatsumi's approach, Tatsumi knew that he was aware of his presence, but he waited nonetheless to be recognized before he would say anything first. A long silence followed until finally Shiranui let out a sigh, not a sad sigh nor a sigh of disgust, just a simple release of breath as if long held, perhaps as if he had not breathed at all since he had stood there.

With a sour frown Tatsumi thought that such a fact would not have surprised him anymore than his stillness. Shiranui was not even human as far as he was concerned but a disgusting otherworldly creature hired by Giovanni to make life in Team Rocket miserable, the god of mad science as he had more than once been called or at least mad science embodied. His plans were always the basest, his presence never brightened a room, his presence was the presence of sterile science and lifeless genius that only acted as a computer programmed to extinguish all color and zest where life could be found.

As cold as Tatsumi could be he hated the lifelessness of Shiranui, but as the silence again broke by the sound of Shiranui clearing his throat to speak, he could only roll his eyes.

Shiranui was human. He was human, and he had his fears and hatred and love just as anyone else; his were just more twisted than most even in the heart of Team Rocket, but he was human. He breathed, he ate, he slept, he dreamed such as he did, and he was a scrawny, miserable little insect of a man physically. Like an insect, he could be squished flat in a single motion from Tatsumi.

"You're late," said Shiranui, his voice as oily as ever, his body still not turning.

As a response Tatsumi grunted.

"Not that it would have really mattered," Shiranui went on with a shrug. "They had the aid of that boy who shut Cipher down, and I doubt in true honesty you would have been able to beat him any more than you would have been able to defeat Wataru of the Elite Four."

A flicker danced in Tatsumi's eye; it was not a pleasant one but the faint flicker of war drum before it vanished again. Not that it would have mattered. Shiranui still did not face the agent.

"Your shadow agent couldn't defeat him?" grumbled Tatsumi.

Shiranui only now glanced behind him, still keeping most of his posture save enough to see Tatsumi over his shoulder with a disdainful and yet still uncaring glance.

"The shadow agent was outnumbered and caught off guard," said Shiranui. "He would have killed two of them handily and taken their pokémon, but that doesn't matter anymore."

Another pause.

"Doesn't it?" Tatsumi asked.

"No, Team Rocket is crumbling, and with the fall of this project it will soon be no more, Giovanni knows this," said Shiranui returning to the tube again. "That's why he allowed me the project in the first place, because it was a chance to lift us out of the pit we were slowly sinking in, a legendary giant stuck in a sinkhole that would eventually collapse to the depths and be devoured by the vermin below like Cipher and Snagg'em."

He clicked the roof of his mouth, and touched the very edge of the pool of shadowy liquid with the toe of his shoe.

"The police will be here soon," Tatsumi pointed out. "If we don't leave now we'll be caught."

Shiranui nodded.

"Yes," he agreed. "All of Team Rocket's work wasted."

"_Your_ work," said Tatsumi.

"Yes, my work," said Shiranui with a strange sort of sigh almost gloomily, Tatsumi thought, but it was only in mockery he soon discovered, "it's a shame I couldn't have continued it with Team Rocket, but it's only a setback."

"A setback?" demanded Tatsumi. He could not help but feel triumph now; Shiranui was in denial! "Face it, Shiranui, you've failed. The shadow agent project is a failure. It's back to the drawing board for you."

"Not the drawing board, Tatsumi," scoffed Shiranui spinning around now to face Tatsumi, and he held up a finger with authority. "Just a new location. I've been offered work for Team Aqua—"

"Idiots," muttered Tatsumi.

"_And_ Team Magma," said Shiranui, "and I'm taking both before I return to work with what little will remain of Team Rocket in my absence."

"_Nani_?" Tatsumi demanded.

"And you're coming with me," said the good doctor.

Tatsumi crossed his arms defiantly. "To tag along until you decide to use me in your army of zombies?"

"Tatsumi, now isn't the time to be cute," said Shiranui. A hint of anger actually showed in his voice now, and it would have been enough to satisfy Tatsumi if he had not been already so annoyed himself.

"I was dead serious," growled Tatsumi.

"I would not put you through the shadow process, Tatsumi," said Shiranui, "because someone needs to remain free enough to keep them under control."

A laugh erupted in Tatsumi's throat. "So you are afraid. You want me as your body guard! You're afraid that your monster will bite back, Dr. Frankenstein! Ha!"

"Fine then," said Shiranui, his lightness suddenly returning, his exasperatingly annoying composure that made Tatsumi want to rip the arms out of his sockets. "If you feel you've been wronged, there is nothing I can do to stop you from going your way."

"_Soo da_," said Tatsumi, anger rising. "There isn't."

"Keep your loyalties with a crumbling empire and be crushed beneath it as you will," said Shiranui. "You along with all the fool agents in the whole syndicate. You're all slaves anyway, for all your pride and ambitions you are no freer than the shadow agents will be under the Rocket insignia. I'm merely ensuring better results."

Like the flash of the wing of a zubat the swing of Tatsumi's great fist then collided into the face of the scientist with the force of a tree falling after the last chop of the axe, and it seemed just as unstoppable, for Tatsumi hardly knew he had done it before he saw Shiranui stumbling back against the control panel, which turned on the tube and released more of the liquid down from above to wash down on Shiranui's shaken body.

The doctor fell into the pool of liquid. At first Shiranui looked angry despite his pain, but as he looked down at the pool below him and the liquid dripped from his hair, mingling with the opened cuts on his hands and face, immediately, he stood up. As the doctor lifted his face to the agent, a look of genuine fear blazed in his eyes. Although much more than this was pulsed through the victim of his projects, just the little liquid that had reached him struck him with a sudden terror. Yet, he did not have long to act upon it, for hardly had he reached his feet when he was shoved again violently against the machinery attached to the tube, so hard in fact that the already sabotaged (by the infiltrators) equipment sent an electric charge through both men.

Tatsumi was merely flung backwards with hair stiffened strait up, but with a throbbing head and buzzing body he lifted himself to see trapped in the rubble of sparks and wires of his own creation, Dr. Shiranui. With a last pitiful shriek the scientist tried to pull himself loose, but he was out within seconds. The smoking machinery had let out its last spark, but whether Shiranui was alive or not, Tatsumi could not tell.

A bit dizzily, Tatsumi neared Dr. Shiranui suspiciously at first, and tapped the doctor's shoe with his boot.

Nothing happened, but that did not necessarily mean he was dead however much it proved the fallacy of the god of mad science.

Leaning closer for a further inspection, Tatsumi shoved a broken panel out of the way, but before he could do much more, he heard the sound of a loudspeaker very faintly outside the lab coming down the corridor.

It was the police. The police had the whole base surrounded. The trainers with their pokémon were there to help. The Kanto police would also be on their way if there was any trouble. Everyone was expected to come quietly.

Tatsumi glowered in defiance.

* * *

JAPANESE PHRASES

_Jaa: So then_

_Iki masho: Let's go_

_Nani: what_

_Soo da: Right_


	24. Family

JMJ

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE:

Family

"_Daijoubu_, Mom, _daijoubu_," said Haruka with a smile as she hugged her mother.

She still looked rather weak, but her statement seemed true for now. As her mother, however, Mitzuko still would not take no for an answer.

"You need your rest," she said. "You should stay at the hotel."

"Yeah," said Masato encouragingly. "The police have the bad guys now, so one of them's bound to tell us where Dad is, right Mom!?"

Mitzuko nodded. She looked sad, but she nodded.

Haruka hugged her mother again.

"Masato's right!" exclaimed Haruka.

This is when they opened the door, and everyone froze as they saw that someone was lying in the first bed.

"Yamato!" Haruka and Masato both cried together.

Yamato awoke so roughly she hit her head on the headboard.

"_Ita_!" she groaned.

#

"One of these crooks has to know where dad is," said a familiar voice from behind the door.

Lying on the miserable cot in her cell, Musashi slowly lifted her head. She had been dozing in out in anxiousness, and it still took until the reply for her to fully recognize who had spoken first.

"Alright but you had better let me handle it, then," said the warden.

Masato. That's who had spoken first!

"_Yatta_!" screamed Musashi and in her enthusiasm fell off the cot.

Catching herself on feet with legs bent and hands out in front of her, she scrambled upright, and slammed painfully into the bars of the door.

"Masato! Masato-chan!"

Right now anyone who could get her out of this mess was a best friend.

There was a strange pause, and then the door burst in.

"Musashi?" asked Masato raising a brow.

Wiping the tears from her eyes, Musashi reached a hand out between the bars toward the newcomers.

"_Ohayo_! _Ohayo gozaimasu_!" she exclaimed. "You don't think you could put in a word for me!"

It took a moment for shock and slight embarrassment to subside after a few wide eyed blinks on Masato's part. Closing his eyes and rubbing his temple a moment, he then turned to the warden and with a heavy sigh asked, "What's she in here for?"

"She was found dressed in a Cipher uniform," said the warden. "We have no proof that she's truly aided Cipher as she seems to have rescued one of their prisoners, but she does have a record with Team Rocket. A relatively extensive one."

Clenching her fingers hard around the frigid, metal bars, Musashi gave Masato the most pitiful pound puppy expression she could.

Masato frowned as a response, but nevertheless returned to the warden once more and said, "She was helping my sister and me and had been in disguise."

"She was?" asked the warden, eyeing Musashi's innocent grin with grave suspicion.

"_Hai_!" said Masato. "She just got a little excited is all cuz she thought they might have captured her husband, sir."

The grin on Musashi's face grew a tad nervous in nature but did not lessen in wideness.

"She and her partner have quit Team Rocket for a couple years now, and Musashi-san even infiltrated the Team Rocket Headquarters to find out information to find my dad and her husband," said Masato. "So I think she's already proven that she's not a bad guy anymore."

"Do you have a second witness?" asked the warden. "She does have an extensive history."

"Sure I do," said Masato. "My sister, Haruka."

Musashi practically collapsed on the ground when the door of her cell opened. They had to make a vid phone call to Haruka at the hotel, but the door was opened. Musashi refrained herself from hugging the boy responsible for the rescue, and once she had straightened and brushed herself off a little, she smiled smugly at the new boy and the woman in the doorway behind Masato. The face of the warden however, proved to cause a dip in that smile.

"You aren't going to get away with everything entirely," said the warden darkly as everyone left the cells and the warden closed the door behind them. "You and your partner's record stretches out across the regions of Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn and as far as the Orange Islands. Your crimes include robbery, sabotage, attempt of murder, arson, destruction of wildlife preserves, activity in the black market, impersonating police officers and other figures of authority, harassment including terrorizing and threatening school children, blackmail, illegal use of weapons and pokémon, kidnapping, cheating in major competitions, faking contest entries and other pokémon training IDs, disturbing the peace, infiltration of secure areas, conning citizens, fleeing authority, not to mention cruelty to pokémon, and shall I go on, Musashi-san?"

"We're that infamous, huh?" asked Musashi with a nervous giggle, a sickening feeling growing in the pit of her stomach.

Even a year before she would not have felt as guilty, even a few weeks ago would have made a difference and three years ago she would have actually beamed with pride to be so acknowledged, but with everything she had been through in the recent past something had certainly changed in her. She had seen evil, true evil in a light she had never seen before. The darkness that could enshroud a soul was more than she could have conceived even when she had considered herself a felon and bore the knowledge proudly, but this did not make her crimes smaller. In fact, now hearing her crimes again made her deeds larger. Everything she, Kojiro and Nyaasu had done, or tried to do would have been more accurate, had been just one more addition to the madness the surrounded Team Rocket and all the teams combined.

"This is no joke, Musashi-san," said the warden. "If either you or your partner Kojiro Niwa are ever caught in illegal activity again you will never see light as long as you live, I can guarantee you that."

Oh, she knew it was no joke. For the first time, Musashi truly understood what Team Rocket stood for, how carelessly they tossed life about like old tissues. Not just pokémon life but human life as well; though Musashi knew full well that anyone who could be cruel to pokémon could be equally as cruel if not more cruel to humans. Looking back, she and her partner had proven that themselves with how that had treated the people that got in the way of their goals. It made Musashi shudder, but all Musashi said the warden was, "Sure thing, sir. No joke. I understand."

"I mean it. Never the light of day again for either of you. The Nation and Orre will all know of this, and it is standard procedure for those wishing a last chance at freedom from the law."

"_Hai_," said Musashi with a meaningful nod.

And turning she saw that Masato had reentered the cell compound in his impatience to know if any prisoner caught from the Cipher Lad would know anything about his father's whereabouts, for Musashi knew that was why he was here with those other two people.

"_Chotto matte_," the warden called, but Masato had already disappeared.

The warden glared at Musashi a moment, but leaving her at the front, he followed the boy. Musashi slowly followed along with the other two people. (The woman Musashi found to be Masato and Haruka's mother Mitzuko). Curiously, she peered through the door as the warden first growled at the female prisoners and then further down at the male prisoners. No one answered. It was not until he promised leniency on anyone who spilled that someone finally opened her mouth.

The woman's name was Lovrina, and Musashi recognized her as the doctor who had helped her to stop Team Rocket from completely overtaking Cipher.

With a cold leer at the warden and a pompous toss of her head, Lovrina said, "I know where Senri is."

"Where!" cried Masato and Mitzuko together.

"But I _do_ get lenience, warden-san?" she demanded.

"_Hai_," said the warden. "The judges will probably look well on—"

"Like, me tattling on the Rockets, totally," muttered Lovrina.

"Well, where?" Masato pressed.

#

"You do have some of the shadow poison in you," Yamato was told when she arrived at the lab and had been tested for shadowization.

Yamato frowned, and lowered her eyes to the floor, though her posture she held straight and as composed as she could.

"It can't be much," she said broodingly.

"No," agreed Pr. Krane, who had been the one to test it, "but even that little bit could affect you, and no one is willing to take that risk."

"So what are you going to do then, lock me up me up in the lab somewhere?" Yamato scoffed, turning with a huff.

"No!" exclaimed the professor with a light laugh, and more seriously he shook his head. "No, we're going to free you from it; though, as for locking up, I can't guarantee that you won't be sent to prison afterward. You and your partner have a record, but I'm sure after all this you won't have trouble being released soon enough and being allowed to live normally."

_Normally? Optimistic, aren't you_? thought Yamato dryly.

That was when she heard it. The scream. At first she thought it was the scream of some pained pokémon as she leapt from her chair in surprised, but the sickening wave in her stomach formed as she realized that the scream was from Kosaburo. It sounded a lot worse than any scream he had ever made about his name.

The call Pr. Krane received confirmed that it was Kosaburo.

"No, no, we can't," agreed Pr. Krane, "especially with all the shadow pokémon that will soon be housed here. Dr. Izumi has a place to keep all those that have been experimented on, and are too unwell to be safely left alone."

Yamato's eyes narrowed, but she kept silent as the screaming continued below.

"We just brought him here to see how badly he has been affected and if there is anything we can do to ease him until we figure out a way to solve this dilemma."

Not caring to hear anymore of the conversation, Yamato rose to her feet and reached for the door. She paused and looked at the professor a moment, but he made no attempt to stop her. Thus, pushing out of the door, she followed the source of the screams. Rather in a fog as she walked, or a strange nightmare that had not yet got to its full climactic stage, she made for the room where Kosaburo was being held. The door was open a crack, and she carefully pushed it open, and there she saw him.

Clothed in a cheap bathrobe and his head nearly shaved to the skin, Kosaburo was being held down upon a table by several staff of the HQ lab, and Yamato stood and stared blankly a moment or two before gathering enough courage to enter the scene. They were trying to give him a sedative by the looks of it, so that they could keep him still enough to test how badly he had been affected by the shadow games Team Rocket had tried to play on him. Kosaburo did not want anyone near him. He even tried to bite someone that got too close.

If this was what the purpose of the shadow agent was Yamato really did not see the point at all.

"I was loyal," Kosaburo sobbed when they finally got the sedative into his arm. "It's not fair! Leave me alone … _Iya …_!"

His screams died to chokes and whimpers, and it was not long before he was calm enough to allow the staff to place him before a gage of sorts that soon turned on a screen. The screen showed numbers and figures and graphs that Yamato really was not interested in seeing. She had already gone through the procedure herself not long before.

She crept further into the room. A couple staff members noticed her, but they knew already who she was and did not stop her. Besides as she was already told before, it may help Kosaburo to see a familiar but not negative face, but by the time she reached his side, she saw that he had fallen asleep by the effect of the sedative. Kosaburo needed this sleep anyway. He looked more awful than she had seen him in her entire life.

Kosaburo almost was not recognizable; his puffy face was so pale it was almost white, except around his eyes where a deep purple black color rimmed them as if he had been punched in both. There were marks on his skin that she thought may have been signs of some nasty wires or tubes which had been attached to him, especially one on his lower arm; though there were no doubt worse marks under that robe. He looked diseased, a vampire victim, practically unreal. If it had not been for the rising and falling of his chest she might had even thought him to be dead.

There was a sense of pity of course but more of loathing than pity to see such a sight, and yet, it occurred to her that, though their relationship had ever been professional, she knew Kosaburo more than her own brother. Yet, she also realized that that was not saying much. She did not know hardly anything about her brother, not even the reason why he had joined Team Rocket, and as for Kosaburo, she only knew what he had chosen to show her in a professional setting aside from the simple things like his favorite vacation destinations, Italian and French were his first choice of restaurant types, he snored in his sleep, and that he could not handle that stupid name thing.

Loathing overpowered pity and she threw her head roughly away from the sight. Backing up, Yamato turned to leave, and she asked that if it would be possible for the staff to come and get her when he was awake. The staff did not have a problem with that.

#

"Dad!" cried Haruka; she nearly screamed it as she leapt for the worn but triumphant figure in the doorway. She threw out her arms and collapsed into his strong hold, and he kissed her several times over madly.

"Never, never again Haruka-chan," he sighed. "Never again will I lose sight of you all. From the bottom of my heart."

No one bothered with Musashi who was free to watch as this scene continued. On the foot of one of the beds she watched in silence, the entire family embrace each other, laughing and crying all at once. In the past she would have caught her sympathies, stuck her tongue out with distaste and turn roughly away with a snort, but as silly as the reunion looked it was a reunion, and a beautiful reunion in its perhaps slightly sappy manner. She could not help but think to herself of her own family and the dangers she had gone through to protect it. Would she and her family ever come together again as this family had?

She knew one thing, though. She was not a terrible mother for what she was doing now to save her family.

Turning away now proved more out of respect for the family before her, for they deserved their privacy.

* * *

JAPANESE PHRASES

_Daijoubu: _I'm okay

_Ita: _ouch

_Ohayo gozaimasu: _good morning

_Chotto matte: _wait a minute


	25. Partnership

JMJ

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR:

Partnership

"Hi, Yamato," said Kosaburo.

The sedative had not yet wore entirely off, but he was awake. That was what Yamato wanted; though; as he looked up at her with that drunken smile and those glazed eyes, she could not help but feel a touch of disgust.

"Are you feeling better?" she asked him, quite calmly, almost mockingly, but Kosaburo still proved far too unreceptive to pick this up.

She did not lean closer to him. She did not speak softly to him. She remained just what he liked. Professional. She could show her concerns professionally for him. Even in a professional relationship, one does not want his or her business partner to die, or suffer a miserable end of any other sort. The small bout of sincere pity and even guilt in the pit of her stomach for thinking so coldly of him, she quickly brushed aside as Kosaburo continued to gaze stupidly and silently.

"Kosanji," said Yamato darkly.

A strange frown then overtook her partner as he looked away in a hazy sort of manner.

There! That got his attention.

With his head to the wall, he hissed rather savagely though barely audibly his rightful name.

"Alright then, Kosaburo …?"

"_Daijoubu_," Kosaburo muttered stiffly, his old self seemed to be returning out of the wilds of the unfinished shadow process and the cloudy sedative, but even if this were the case, Yamato knew her partner well enough to know that he would take what Team Rocket had done to them far harder than she was.

"Fine," said Yamato rolling her eyes to the ceiling and crossing her arms, "be that way."

She stood up to leave, and a groggy Kosaburo turned around and lifted himself little upon his arm rather painfully.

"Yamato!" he croaked.

Alarmed by his urgency, she spun around.

"_Nani_?!" she cried.

With her eyes upon him, Kosaburo looked down and shook his head.

"Never mind," he grumbled and collapsed into his pillow wearily.

Yamato exited the room.

#

"It's going to be difficult for the humans," said Pr. Krane quite soberly, "that have been affected by the shadow process to be cured. First, because a new machine will have to be developed that will take down the level going through their body. The one we use for pokémon might do more harm than good. The other reason is because one important factor in shadow process is the closing of the heart of the victim. The psychological and emotional damage, if you will. With pokémon who are far simpler in their views of the world it is as simple as the kindness of a trainer. Already some of the pokémon who have been entirely shadowized are showing signs of recovery because of this, but as most of the human victims of this tragedy were already, well, to put it lightly, highly emotionally disturbed to begin with as they were mostly members of Team Snagg'em, Team Rocket, and Cipher it will be rather difficult to accomplish this. And although none of those under the care of my friend are fully completed shadow agents, it also seems to be negatively affected by adolescent hormones, and at least two from Snagg'em were no more than fifteen years old. We have been trying to contact family that may care about them, but thus far we have only been successful with finding a sister of one. Otherwise we have been completely unsuccessful in that regard."

All the while as the professor spoke, Musashi only half listened after she had asked that one simple question of how Kosaburo and Yamato were doing, but by the sound of things, it proved not well. It surprised the professor that she had showed up at his office door to ask in the first place, and now she leaned her chin upon her palm and elbow on the table in front of him, trying hard to be patient.

"Yamato," said the professor finally, "will probably get well without much interference, we have come to the conclusion, but we are not positive yet. Kosaburo …"

"Isn't doing so well," Musashi muttered.

"No," said the professor.

#

They wanted to keep her around. As she did not have much of the shadow juice poisoning her, they could use her to see how difficult it would be to cure the problem, and Yamato agreed readily, for she had no desire to go to jail, which was where she would be instead if she chose not to play along. Besides, if she stayed at the little place set up by Pr. Krane's friend she would be right by Kosaburo when he got better, and the two of them could escape quite easily from a place like this. Also it was not as if she wanted to have some mad scientist concoction running through her veins anyway.

Yamato allowed any needle, scanner or wire that came her way, and in return she had a pretty free range for a person who was a convicted criminal with a long record for such a short life. She could not say that gave her a bad deal, really, but then she knew quite well that Pr. Krane hoped and pretty much believed that both she and Kosaburo would not go back to their criminal ways and the other poor rejects (mostly of Snagg'em origin) that had survived. Now she did not know anything about the others that had been brought in nor did she care, but she pitied and at the same time wanted to laugh in the silly, little man's face for his absurdity in thinking that something like this would make Kosaburo and her stop their way of life. All she and Kosaburo wanted was to be cured. She knew that well enough. She did not have to see the infuriated look on Kosaburo's face as she walked in to see him after their arrival at their new housing arrangements next day to see that.

Glaring with a deep, brooding, searing intensity into the wall behind his new, sterile bed, Kosaburo sat on his knees next to his pillow. His fists were clenched tightly at his sides, and he held his posture board-like. He wore a cap on his head for he probably hated the buzz cut he had received at the hands of the Shadow Project's staff, and, like Yamato, he wore a comfortable set of clothes kindly given to them to wear. It was not a normal hospital by any means, and Yamato at least felt grateful that they did not have to wear pajamas.

"Kosaburo," said Yamato, rather pleased that he was looking so much better than before even if he appeared rather grumpy.

That could not be helped. It was expected. She felt grumpy too, and had been glaring down a few walls herself since she had been rescued by Musashi of all people. She still had not the courage to tell Kosaburo that one, but then she had not really been able to speak with him properly until today.

"He betrayed me," said Kosaburo.

"Who? Namba?" sniffed Yamato; she could not help but growl a little at the thought of him herself.

"No," returned Kosaburo, turning around to face Yamato; his eyes still made him look as if the life had been sucked out of him and his pallor proved no better so that it sickened Yamato to look at his face. "Giovanni."

Yamato bit her lip. She had not thought of that. A chill ran down her spine despite herself, but she could not deny the truth of what Kosaburo meant.

"But maybe the Boss didn't know," said Yamato. "It was Shiranui's project. Namba's idea. Uh — he can't be expected to keep track of some crazy scientist, especially with all that crap going on in the Northern Region."

Slowly and eerily, Kosaburo's face began to contort into an old gnarled tree of an infuriated expression. He looked as if he may explode, and for a moment Yamato expected him to. Instead, he merely let his head drop to the sight of the floor as if all the emotion and weight of his mind had suddenly become too heavy to hold up.

"He had to have approved it," said Kosaburo through clenched teeth, his words seemed to steam as they left his mouth. "He had to've. We couldn't've just disappeared. We were top agents. Don't you see how that would've put them at risk!? Yamato, you idiot! All scientists are cowards!" His shoulders began to shake with an uncontrollable rage like a pot about to boil the cover right off. "They would ask him first, those … those … those little slinking … things!"

"Kosaburo …"

Yamato raised a brow with suspicion.

"I _hate_ them!" he snapped as if he had not heard. "I hate them all! I'll _KILL_ Namba! Don't think I won't! He'll _PAY_ for this, don't think he won't! You hear me!? _And_ Giovanni! I'll kill him too! You hear me?!"

"I hear you, I hear," said Yamato, stepping up to his bed and crossing her arms. "But don't you think that the, uh … shadow stuff is kind of affecting you right now?"

Kosaburo stopped. His hands which he began to wrench over his face fell away, and he looked up at Yamato with a very wide-eyed, Gollum-hearing-that-the-ring-must-be-destroyed leer.

"Of course I think so!" snarled Kosaburo. "What do you think, you ditz?"

At this, Yamato was quite taken aback and more than a little offended. She could only forgive him because of his condition.

"It's been affecting me," choked Kosaburo near a sob as he banged his head against the wall, "since they pumped that stuff into me!" He turned back to Yamato. "They ruined my life, Yamato!" He wailed. "They ruined my life! I can't control myself! My mind won't stop! I'm not even a shadow agent! It wasn't complete! I'm a freak! I'm a—a—a pokémon!"

At this last exclamation, he let himself slide off of the bed to the floor onto his knees. He moaned loudly, and muttered at least three time, "I'm a shadow pokémon."

"Shut up," said Yamato before he could go on with a fourth round of his crazed remark. "Get a hold of yourself! You're not a pokémon."

"Shut up yourself, Yamato!" Kosaburo snapped back. "Or don't you get it? The agents mean nothing more to Team Rocket than the pokémon they capture. They're just tools! Tools for them to use however they like! I was such an _idiot_ to fall for him. The Boss! He tricked me!"

"Well, you knew he was no angel, didn't you?" Yamato demanded.

"He tricked me into helping him," Kosaburo grumbled. "I was loyal. I was loyal to him. I was loyal to the Boss. I was loyal to Team Rocket. I didn't complain. I did my job. I did whatever that freak of nature Namba told me to do. I played servant boy to his idiotic needs, and this is how he repays me …"

"Kosaburo."

"What?!" snapped Kosaburo. "I hate him. What's it to you? You know how hard I worked to get that position? No, you don't. _You_ were brought in at age four. _You_ went to all the private Team Rocket run academies. _You_ don't know what it's like to drag yourself out of the mud to work your way up the ladder to glory!"

"You're starting to sound like my brother," said Yamato darkly.

"Well, you don't," said Kosaburo sourly.

"I worked just as hard as you to get that position under Namba," Yamato reminded him.

All she received in return was Kosaburo's sinister laugh.

"Let's see Namba try to catch that keva!" he said. "Let's see Giovanni himself try to stop those stupid kids with his Persian! Huh?! Huh?! You think they could?! No. But all my work goes to waste! Yamato! And I'll kill them! I'm gunna kill them. I'll kill Namba. I'll kill the Boss, and you know who else I'm gunna kill?"

"Dr. Shiranui?" Yamato offered dryly.

"I'm gunna kill _Kosanji_ …"

Closing her eyes with a heavy sigh, Yamato rubbed her temple.

"Kosanji is a comedian, an actor. He doesn't even know you exist," Yamato muttered.

"But I hate him," muttered Kosaburo.

"It's the shadow stuff," Yamato told him. "Get a hold of yourself."

"Everyone calls me that," Kosaburo went on as if he had not heard.

"We can go somewhere else," Yamato offered.

"Those three stooges call me that."

"We can work for another team somewhere else," emphasized Yamato. "Team Galactica or, uh … they all stink."

"Those stupid kids call me that."

"Or—or—or we can just forget the teams altogether," Yamato said, now more to herself that to Kosaburo as she turned away from the grumbling heap on the floor.

"Namba and the Boss!"

"We could be thieves for ourselves. You know. Bonnie and Clyde, that sort of thing. Glamorous, smart, evil."

"I don't look anything like Kosanji!"

"Or we could forget glamour and go for the whole Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid thing and run off to some far off place where no one knows who we are and have thieves' paradise," said Yamato. "Minus the end part where it doesn't work."

"I don't sound like him, act like him!" Kosaburo cried, his legs crossed and his hands on his knees, and he rocked back in forth as if in some psychotic trance. "The name 'Kojiro' sounds more like 'Kosanji' than 'Kosaburo'! They _know_ what my name is. They do it on purpose. That stupid, stinking, old idiot we kidnapped for Project R! Even _he_ calls me that! Kosaburo! Kosaburo! Kosa—"

"_Kosaburo_!" snapped Yamato.

"_Wa-a-a-a-at_!"

"That was at least three years ago! Get over it!"

Their eyes locked onto each other, and the partners stared in silence for a moment or two.

Then with a heavy sigh, Yamato said, "You can pull out of this. You're a professional. Control yourself. It's the shadow stuff. It's supposed to make you stronger through your anger, remember? So whatever they did to you, regardless whether it's complete, is only pulling at your anger. We've spent our entire career pulling plots like that on pokémon."

"I know! What a joke, right!?"

He pulled himself to his feet and threw his cap onto the floor.

"That's what we are, isn't it? A joke."

"I don't consider any of this very funny," muttered Yamato, but Kosaburo did not hear her.

"Some cosmic joke on us!" he went on. "We spend our lives catching pokémon to be mind controlled and turned into raging things at our disposal! And then now we're the pokémon! What a great joke! The stars are laughing! I know their laughing! I _hate_ them." He looked down at his stocking feet a moment, his fingers twitching at his sides. "No one takes me seriously."

Yamato was beginning to lose patience, and she wondered why no one was coming in from all this racket he was making like a little boy throwing a tantrum; though the walls were pretty solid.

"Kosa—"

But she did not get to finish the name before Kosaburo was right in her face.

"You don't either!" he hissed.

"_N-n-nani_?" squeaked Yamato.

"You don't take me seriously."

A sudden fear fell upon Yamato, and she took a step backwards away from Kosaburo. The knowledge that he could easily overpower her if he chose was not lost on Yamato, and all disgust had vanished and been replaced only with the thought that Kosaburo truly could not control himself.

"Yes, I do," she protested.

"No, you don't!" snapped Kosaburo. "You call me that too."

Yamato shook her head. "_Iya_."

"Yes, you do. You just did yesterday," Kosaburo said very dangerously as he took a step closer to her, and a few more and she found herself backed up into the wall. "You do all the time. I've heard you."

"Well, it's just that the whole thing was driving me crazy," said Yamato with a shudder. "I mean, you just didn't stop. You knew Musashi and Kojiro and their … uh, whatever just called you that to bug you, and the kids really thought it was your name, I think — at first. It was that dumb cat that hacked into the records and changed the name on your profile. Take it out on him! You know all that. I tried to tell you that if you didn't react then they would stop, but you still kept blowing up about it, and—"

"See!" said Kosaburo, grabbing her by the shoulders. "You thought it was a joke and had to say it too. You don't take me seriously."

"Yes, I do!" gasped Yamato. "You know I do. You're the brains! You make up the plots! Your word is my action! We're a team! Right? Kosaburo! I'm sorry, alright? I'm sorry!"

A low growl answered her. Kosaburo's eyes raged with a dark flame caused by the shadow juices. The veins on his wrists and neck even began bulging, or perhaps their color just grew far more intense as he leered with such intense hatred into Yamato's eyes. Yamato felt like a gazelle under the weight of a lion, for it looked like that at any moment Kosaburo would rip out her throat. His grip only tightened all the more around her shoulders so that she felt her circulation being cut off.

"Kosaburo," she barely managed to squeak. "Please stop. Stoppit! You're hurting me."

A flicker of consciousness flitted over his eyes, and Kosaburo having finally come to his senses released her quite violently. An exhausted Yamato fell back against the wall with a heavy sigh of relief, and Kosaburo after a dizzying sway, collapsed at her feet miserably.

"It's not fair," he choked.

And to Yamato's utter surprise, Kosaburo began to cry; though he fought so hard to keep the tears back it was painful to see. Rubbing her still throbbing shoulders, she lifted herself off the wall and looked down at Kosaburo in a state she may have expected from Musashi's puppy Kojiro or even Musashi herself as she had displayed in her agonizing search for the idiot that slunk behind her like some wounded, mangy mutt, but this …

"Does it … does it hurt?" she asked timidly.

Kosaburo nodded as calmly as he could.

"Yes," he said solemnly, shaking slightly regardless. "It hurts. You can't believe how much it hurts."

"It wasn't complete," said Yamato.

"I know, that's probably why it does," he replied and swallowed heavily. "Please, Yamato, don't ..." he shook his head.

"What?" she demanded.

"You're going to leave me here," Kosaburo said. "Aren't you?"

"I … I … didn't say that," said Yamato.

"But you're going to," said Kosaburo lifting his head up to her miserably.

"No, of course not!" said Yamato. "Why would I leave you?"

"Because I scare you and because there's no reason for you to stay."

Yamato bit her lip a moment and frowned very deeply before saying, "No. You don't scare me."

A flash of anger returned to his eyes. "Don't lie to me, Yamato!"

Holding up her hands in defense, Yamato would have leapt back if it had not been for the wall.

"Okay, okay, I won't, I'm sorry," said Yamato. "Just stop, okay?"

"Don't you get it?" Kosaburo demanded, even as he spoke there came a light knock at the door and someone asked if they could come in. Before replying to the call Kosaburo finished to his partner, "I can't!"

#

"What about Yamato," asked Musashi. "She's his partner. Couldn't she help Kosaburo get better?"

Standing in a phone booth in Gateon Port with the sight of the bay just behind her, Musashi asked again about the state of her former rivals. She could not help it, she supposed. She planned on leaving the Orre Region on the next boat with Haruka and her family, but she had this growing pain within her to know that Kosaburo and Yamato were going to be alright. She knew it had something to do with Kojiro. She could still hear him telling her his concerns about them as if he was standing just outside the phone booth with hands wringing and face earnest.

Musashi closed her eyes. It almost made her laugh to see that image behind her that for years she had only scorned. Why she loved him, she may never know. He drove her crazy sometimes, but it seemed he drove her crazier in his absence than in his presence.

"You said something about people that care about the shadowized people being able to help them," Musashi pressed.

There was an uneasy pause.

"I'm afraid to say, Musashi, but Yamato is no longer with us," said the professor.

Ice beam struck, and Musashi stared at the phone a moment as if she held some diseased thing.

"_She's dead_?!" cried Musashi.

"No, no!" gasped the professor. "No. She's just left, and we doubt she'll be coming back. I suppose we should have been more careful after we told her that the shadow poison was wearing off on its own in her. She had not much."

"Left …" Musashi breathed, and then she frowned. "Well, don't scare me like that!" she snarled.

"I'm very sorry, Musashi-san," said the professor.

_Stupid, blond bimbo_, Musashi thought. _Leaving Kosaburo behind when he needs her the most. That idiot! I ought to kick her. If I had her right in front of me right now I'd …_

_But Musashi!_

Rage fell away.

That faint cry echoed in the back of her mind from a past not so very long ago when she herself had done little to comfort and help the very one she now could not stand to be without. His red eyes brimming with tears, his face pale and sickly, his shoulders weak and stooped, and he looked up at her with longing. She had only turned away and could not face him.

Although she had never left him permanently, Musashi had not been there for Kojiro when he needed it. For the longest time, she did not even know how, and even when she did, she did not think she truly understood him until now. Until he was taken away from her. How could Yamato be expected to act any better than she had?

"Musashi?" asked Pr. Krane.

Musashi hung up the phone. She paused. Then she picked up the phone again.

Collect call.

Kojiro's summer home was where her baby now resided, and she wanted to tell her how much she missed her, even if she was too little to understand. She also was planning to call the Niwa Estate as well to see if there was any news about Kojiro, but she had to talk to Bara-chan first. Her heart ached for Bara especially now that the immediate danger with the shadow agents had passed.

"Come on …" she murmured impatiently as she punched the side of the phone booth. "Don't be gone …"

The phone picked up.

"M_oshi, moshi_?"

"Uh! Grampy?"

It felt weird to call him that, but no one had ever given him a different name for her to call him by.

"It's me, Musashi!" cried Musashi. "I want to talk to my baby."

"Musashi?" came the hesitant reply.

"Yes, Bara-chan," she said.

"Bara-chan is not here, Musashi-san," said Grampy.

"What!" squeaked Musashi, a sword seemed to slice her right through with terror.

"She's with her father," said Grampy.

Musashi nearly fainted.

"Kojiro," she whispered.

"He took her to the estate," said Grampy.

"Thank you," said Musashi then tears swimming in her eyes. "I'm gunna call him right now. Thank you so much."

She clicked off without even a simple goodbye before she quickly redialed for the Niwa Estate instead.

Her heart raced wildly, but even as she waited impatiently for Kojiro's answer she could not help but think of Kosaburo. She had never thought of him much before, but to think of him alone and abandoned like that now with little hope of recovery from what had happened to him, she knew that before she could see Kojiro again there was one last thing she had to do. A decision formulated in her mind as she demanded that the servant give the phone to Kojiro, and she only forgot it when she heard Kojiro's clear, candid voice.

"_Moshi moshi_?"

"KOJIRO!" she shrieked so piercingly that it took a moment for Kojiro to recover from the ringing in his ears before he could speak with who he realized was Musashi.

* * *

JAPANESE PHRASES:

_Daijoubu: _I'm fine

_Moshi moshi: _hello (on the phone)


	26. Musashi's Picnic Basket

JMJ

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE:

Musashi's Picnic Basket

The look of surprise, although expected, still almost roused a laugh despite all as Kosaburo lifted his head to his new visitor in the doorway. His eyes popped, his mouth opened ajar, and his eyebrows parted quite distantly; holding up her hand with a friendly wave, Musashi smiled broadly, a tad goofily, as she stepped inside.

"_Ohayo gozaimasu_!" Musashi exclaimed.

With a roll of his eyes Kosaburo returned to his wall which seemed to hold as much interest as an engaging television program, and something may happen that he would miss if he left attention from it for too long. His shoulders stiffened a little, he breathed a heavy sigh, but he said nothing to Musashi.

Hardly daunted, Musashi set her basket by the door and strolled on in as if she had been eagerly received. The guard behind her worried her a little though, for it reminded her that Kosaburo had proven himself capable of sudden violence. Seeing as Kosaburo really did not like her or Kojiro it seemed a necessary precaution.

Kosaburo was seated cross-legged on the foot of his bed, and an empty space behind the foot proved perfect for Musashi to enter into the scene. Pulling up a chair and sitting backwards on it with legs swung around the back of it, Musashi leaned her arms upon the head and glanced at Kosaburo's wall and then turned to Kosaburo himself.

"You … okay?" she asked.

Kosaburo closed his eyes, and what weary, discolored eyes they proved to be, Musashi saw. A deep, unnatural purple blue rimmed his eyes and this was accented by how incredibly pale he looked. He also had a slightly puffy look about his face, which this along with the lack of rosiness about his skin seemed enough to prove how much of that shadow gunk had been pumped into his body. It made Musashi sick to think about it too hard, and she wondered how in the world the human body or any living body for that matter could not reject something so unnatural, or what had the scientists done to keep the body from falling apart with something so obviously poison?

A slow leer from those dark eyes moved in Musashi's direction, and Kosaburo's eyes having finally locked onto Musashi's after much effort, or perhaps simple apathy, he closed his eyes and turned away.

"What do you want, Musashi?" muttered Kosaburo.

"I just came to … uh," Musashi began twiddling her fingers and clearing her throat. "Uh … well, to see how you're doing!" She punched the air as an attempt to bring more oomph to her rather weak tone.

"Like crap," said Kosaburo with eyes again locked on the wall.

"I can, uh, see that," said Musashi a tad sullenly.

A shudder went through Kosaburo, not of fear, not of sorrow, but whatever caused it sent a shiver of her own to run down Musashi's spine.

"I hate her," he grumbled.

"Huh?" asked Musashi.

"Yamato."

"Oh."

There was silence for a few minutes, and then another shudder like a wave went through Kosaburo, and Musashi stiffened wide-eyed to see that Kosaburo actually had tears in his eyes. Hot, fiery, raging tears from an otherwise rigid, stationary form. Musashi gulped.

"She left me …" he hissed.

"I'm sorry," said Musashi.

More silence.

"_Ne_," said Musashi reaching out a hand for his shoulder. "It's okay. So she's a jerk and left you. It's not the end of the world. Right?"

Violently, Kosaburo pushed her hand away with childish defiance.

"I would have done the same thing!" snarled Kosaburo.

The guard looked up from the doorway, but Kosaburo did nothing more to Musashi as he shook again. The guard then digressed and explained that Kosaburo had been recently put on a mild sedative.

"They have to put me on it or I explode," grumbled Kosaburo. "Antipsychotics too! Until they …"

Musashi was not even sure he was talking to her at all or merely talking for the sake of release.

He changed conversation in mid direction and completely forgot the medication as he reverted back to Yamato.

"I hate her," he said. "I would have done the same thing."

"Uh … Kosaburo," said Musashi quietly testing waters.

Kosaburo shot his head up so hard it was surprising he did not give himself a whiplash, and this was on sedative?

Musashi winced.

"Uh …" Musashi said, and cleared her throat again, forcing the friendliest smile she could manage. "You wanna eat outside. Have you been outside recently? And have a picnic?"

"_Nanda_?" hissed Kosaburo.

"A picnic," Musashi reemphasized. She resituated herself in the chair so that she now sat sideway toward the foot of the bed. "You know. You spread a blanket out on the ground and eat food out of a basket."

The basket in question, she pointed a finger across the room toward for Kosaburo's viewing.

"No," said Kosaburo.

"Oh, come on!" exclaimed Musashi. "It'll be good for you! Look at you, you look like a zombie! Why don't you get outside and have some sun and vitamin D!"

"What's the matter with you?" Kosaburo demanded.

"Come _on_!" said Musashi.

Kosaburo growled as answer.

#

With his cap upon his head and his jacket, Musashi did not see how he could not be sweltering in the summer heat, but she was not about to question him about it, especially after she already had three times and got nothing but low growls as answers. The guard still remained at hand, and she now motioned him to join them, which the guard after glancing at the pair of X-agents with skepticism decided to take the invitation with hesitance.

"Mmm!" cried Musashi. "_Oishi_! This is good sausage! See?"

She shoved the bucket toward the guard first and then to Kosaburo.

Kosaburo glanced idly inside at the squeeing octillery-shaped pieces of meat, and he glowered.

Taking a pair of chopsticks and shoveling the sausage from another bucket into her mouth, Musashi smiled.

"You're crazy, Musashi," muttered Kosaburo.

"Better to be crazy than grumpy," Musashi sniffed and stuck her chopsticks into her mouth again. "Now aren't you happy we came outside. The sun is out, the breeze is perfect, and you should just relax a little."

"No," said Kosaburo.

"Why not?!" snapped Musashi.

"Because I can't," Kosaburo returned.

"Pfft, don't be stupid," laughed Musashi. "Eat your picnic and be happy like the sausages!"

A loud groan escaped him.

"It may be good to try to eat something," said the guard calmly to Kosaburo.

"No one asked you," grumbled Kosaburo in return. "Gimme that!" he snapped.

This time he took a box of ramen and shoved some into his mouth with his chopsticks.

"If I throw up on you, Musashi, it'll be your fault!" he snapped angrily.

Musashi smiled "Oh, why would you do that?"

"Because I've already thrown up quite a lot recently," retorted Kosaburo.

"But shadow _pokémon_ don't throw up," Musashi pointed out. "Or else they wouldn't bother."

"I wasn't complete!" snapped Kosaburo. "Besides I'm not a pokémon."

"Uh, no!" agreed Musashi, shoveling some rice into her mouth. "I didn't say you were!"

Ignoring her, Kosaburo lifted the chopsticks to his mouth, though not without pausing to look at the noodles a moment as if he were staring at little worms trying to squirm out from between those two sticks of wood. Closing his eyes, he let out a heavy sigh and took his bite, chewing and swallowing quickly to get it over with.

"Hey," said Musashi pleasantly. "Why not just have some plain white rice and some tea then?"

She handed these items his way. Kosaburo snorted; though, took the items slowly from Musashi's hands. He drank some tea first and then took to picking up individual grains of rice with the chopsticks rather absently and putting them on occasion into his mouth.

As the guard turned to Musashi, she smiled in return and shoved him some ramen and his own pair of chopsticks, as well as some tea.

"Eat!" she said.

"Uh, _arigatou gozaimasu_, Musashi-san," said the guard with a slight bow of his head.

But her focus moved to Kosaburo again, and her smile could be held no longer. She studied him a moment as he stared into his rice and completely ignoring her. His eyes twitched now and then. His head sunk into his shoulders further and further until he appeared to be attempting to bring his head into his body like a squirtle or a shuckle. He looked like a pokémon that would rather lick his wounds in the shelter of some darkened corner than sit under the shade of a tree with sunlight dancing through its rustling leaves.

"They betrayed me …" he murmured.

"I know," said Musashi with a nod.

"They betrayed me," Kosaburo went on, "even after everything I did. I spent half my life working my butt off for them and this is my reward …"

"I know," said Musashi again.

Kosaburo's eyes flashed to Musashi but only long enough to growl, "No you don't!" before his eyes turned away again.

"My name's been — my REAL name's been signed with Team Rocket since I was eleven! I abandoned everything for it!" snapped Kosaburo. "Working my way up from go-between, training, agenting, and advanced agenting, and for what!? For WHAT!? It's not fair!"

Eyes faltering from Kosaburo's practically writhing form, Musashi glanced at the guard, but the guard had been ordered not to interfere unless violence had been committed. Any person that came to visit Kosaburo (and Musashi was the only one if his partner did not count) had to be left to try to break through the shadow barrier at least until they could create a machine designed for curing humans. The pokémon purifying chambers would not work at all for humans, Musashi had been told, and in fact would run the risk of killing a human or permanently damaging them. As if Kosaburo did not already appear pretty permanently damaged.

Though, Musashi had a feeling that this damage had little to do with the actual shadow process itself, and she assumed everyone else there knew it too even if the rages of the experiment was not helping at all.

"And now I'm having a picnic with Musashi of all people!"

"Well, if you're gunna be like that," sniffed Musashi. "I saved your life, you know."

"I'll _kill_ Namba!" growled Kosaburo. "It's not fair! I was loyal! Loyal, loyal! What did they want me to do!? Lick their boots? Fluff their pillows? Huh?! I wasted my whole life! And no one understands! It's not fair! It's not fair! It's not—"

SWACK!

Wide eyes like baseballs leered at Musashi as Kosaburo rubbed the side of his head where the sudden hand/head collision had been made. His mouth gaped briefly, and he blinked stupidly before he finally managed to say, "You hit me."

"It made you stop didn't it?"

"But …" Kosaburo squinted. "You hit me."

"Sorry, it was a reflex," Musashi admitted. "But someone had to snap you out of it."

"I wanna go in now," said Kosaburo.

"But we just got out here," Musashi protested, but she relented.

#

"Why?" Kosaburo asked.

"Because you were lonely here," said Musashi with a smile.

"No!" snapped Kosaburo. "I mean why did you save me? Why did you DO that?"

"What? Didn't you want me to?"

"No!" snapped Kosaburo, and paused. "I mean … I don't know."

Back in his room, they sat, and Musashi again on the chair sighed with a roll of her eyes. "I promised Yamato I'd go back for you."

"Why?" demanded Kosaburo.

"Well, I …" Musashi thought. "I don't know!"

"Well, you shouldn't've wasted your time," muttered Kosaburo. "Besides, I thought you were looking for your partner."

"I was!" Musashi exclaimed. "It's just, well … leave Kojiro out of this!"

"You married him, didn't you."

Musashi's eyes narrowed upon Kosaburo, and she followed his gaze to the ring on her finger. Curling the fingers, she slowly moved her hand out of sight into one of her many pockets in her cargo pants.

"What's it to you?" Musashi asked.

"What do you see in him?" Kosaburo demanded.

Glaring, Musashi opened her mouth for a sharp reply, but Kosaburo interrupted.

"Seriously!" he said. "I mean it! What do you see in that little puppy dog? Is that what it takes to impress a girl? Drooling puppies?"

"Shut up," grumbled Musashi. "I'll hit you again."

But Kosaburo as usual paid no attention to her as anger of his own began to rise yet again. "He's insane, more insane than you! A pitiful, little idiot! In fact, every time I saw him he was more and more pathetic! You remember when he believed was connected with moltres in that stupid horoscope book we made to trick little kids? He's a moron!"

"Shut up!" shouted Musashi leaping to her feet. "You know nothing about Kojiro! I wouldn't've married him if he was still — _RRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrr_! Shut up!"

"Why?" Kosaburo laughed. "What do you care? Without you to protect him, he's nothing! He's a sniveling, little—"

SWACK!

"ACK!"

"I _told_ you I'd hit you again!" Musashi snapped.

Kosaburo winced, then glared. He held a look about him as if he may very well wish to lunge at her, but perhaps the medications were keeping him at bay. Whatever the reason, he merely sat there on his bed, glaring monstrously at Musashi, but Musashi herself would not have cared what he tried at that point as her anger reached its peak.

"You know nothing about Kojiro!" snapped Musashi, breathing heavily and flexing her fingers at her sides.

"I don't want to know about him," Kosaburo grumbled.

"Yes, you do!" Musashi snapped back. "If it wasn't for Kojiro you would have become a full shadow agent! You and Yamato."

"He has nothing to do with that."

"He saved your life!" she retorted.

"I thought _you_ saved my life," said Kosaburo.

"Kojiro is better than you'll ever be," said Musashi, holding her hand back for another assault. "You want me to hit you a third time?"

"You want me to throw you out the window?" Kosaburo demanded.

"Don't hit him again."

This came from the guard, quite dark and warningly, and as Musashi turned to the guard, she remembered why she had come in the first place. The argument that now ensued would help nothing. If it kept up, she would no doubt be asked to leave, but she could not help it. Anything else she would have been able to handle but bringing Kojiro into his, except maybe Bara-chan, but Kosaburo knew nothing about her.

She returned to Kosaburo.

"He's … he's … the bravest person I've ever met," she said, her voice suddenly quiet as she lowered her eyes to the floor. "He faced the whole world all by himself, and I … we would all four us've been shadow agents if it had not been for him."

It was the truth, Musashi knew it. She knew it more than anything else at the moment. If Kojiro had not changed her, she would not have saved Yamato, she would have never saved Kosaburo. She would have never brought Haruka and Masato to the Orre Region, and there would have been more shadow agents before other people would have stopped them. They would have been too busy with the shadow pokémon in Kanto. She knew that, but she also knew that if Kojiro had not convinced her to marry him and to leave Team Rocket, she would have been in Team Rocket during all this mess with the team war and the shadow pokémon and the shadow agents. She had a good feeling she knew she would have ended up in the Orre Region. She and Nyaasu both would have been shadowized, and she knew that if Kojiro had not braved the world and gone back home and quit Team Rocket instead following his usual habit of doing whatever Musashi and Nyaasu told him, he would have no doubt been one of the first on the list to be shadowized. As Kosaburo had said, Kojiro was worthless — not that she believed that he had been entirely useless even as an agent, but Kosaburo's view on him was shared with most everyone in Team Rocket, and it would not have taken much to get the trio to come to the Orre Region even happily.

The scene played before her now how it might have went …

_Called by some high positioned crony that they were needed in the Orre Region, the trio rushed to their new destination at full speed._

"_They promised complimentary meals, nya!" Nyaasu said licking his lips._

"_And promotions!" Kojiro cried, gleefully grabbing the basket of the balloon._

"_And our own rooms and all the hot showers we could want!" Musashi sighed, clasping her hands together._

"_And food, nya!" Nyaasu said again, jumping up with excitement as the Orre Region approached, and they looked down from their balloon._

"HAI_!" exclaimed Musashi and Kojiro together, rubbing their hands together eagerly._

_All three laughed in menacing triumph …_

All anyone had to do was promise the trio food and they would be there like hungry dogs in Pavlov's experiment. Only instead of merely an experiment in seeing whether or not a dog will drool at the sight of food, they soon would discover that synthetic control would ensure a dog would drool on command without the incentive even of a satisfied stomach

Musashi knew that they probably would have trounced right into the lab like pigs dancing to the slaughter and would only know far too late what the true meaning of their promotion was.

_It was our last chance_, she thought.

She blinked strangely, for half a second expecting Kojiro's face before her, but her eyes focused only on Kosaburo's glaring brown eyes, and she turned away a tad sheepishly.

"I better go," she said.

With a roll of his eyes, Kosaburo muttered something in agreement.

Her eyes flashed back to him.

"But I won't abandon you," she warned him. "Even if you wanted me to."

"I don't care what you do," said Kosaburo. "You're lying anyway."

"No," said Musashi. "I'm not. You _will_ get better, even if I have to make you better myself, but not right now, cuz I feel like punching you in the nose, so … _sayonara_."

"_Sayonara_," Kosaburo muttered in reply.

Musashi glanced once more at Kosaburo before she left the room with her basket under her arm. Kosaburo did not return her look, but turned grumpily to the wall. With a slow shake of her head she stepped out of the room and closed the door behind her. She walked down the steps in silence, her eyes down at her feet. The white walls around her hazed a little like a dream, and fragments of a near forgotten dream did seem to hang about her mind as she reached the bottom step.

That nightmare passed suddenly though as she lifted her head toward the small lobby, for the moment she looked, she saw Kojiro looking with his bright, goofy smile. Musashi slowly, foggily returned the smile, and suddenly felt dizzy enough to faint. She didn't, but Kojiro ran so quickly to her that he would have caught her. Saved her again.

"Kojiro …" she squeaked grabbing him in the tightest hug.

"Are you okay, Musashi?" he asked, his voice as lost as hers.

Musashi did not hear as she parted and looked brightly up at him.

"How did you get here so fast?" she asked.

"We flew," said Kojiro.

"Nyeah!" said Nyaasu, popping his out from behind, and he laughed. "Flew right in to pick you up, nya! We were told we'd find you here, nya."

Musashi looked around the corner and saw that Nyaasu stood beside the baby buggy with Bara-chan sleeping soundly inside. Looking back at Kojiro she shook her head hazily. She did not even know what was happening before she found herself in the small plan and headed back for the Kanto.

"Kojiro," she said.

Kojiro lifted an eye to her direction, and he looked a little hesitant to see her so grave.

"What? What's wrong?" he gasped.

"Nothing!" Musashi cried but then lowered her voice and turned away briefly before looking again at Kojiro. "I just … I just wanted to tell you that … that," he voice came out rather awkwardly and stutteringly, "I think you're the bravest person in the whole world. I really do. You fought everyone. Even me and Nyaasu were against you. You wanted to change your fate and you did it. I never met anyone who fought as much as you, and …"

With eyes in danger of popping out onto the floor, Kojiro stared at Musashi as she spoke; his face was blank and candid with the surprise of a child's. The further she went the more she figured Kojiro believed not a word, but she spoke anyway, and when she had completed her thoughts as they trailed away, she looked up at Kojiro and said quite firmly and even a tad dangerously, "Well, you are, Kojiro, so there!"

Then she turned away in a huff.

Kojiro bit his lip a moment and glanced out the window. After a moment or two, he smiled, and turned back to Musashi to give her a strong hug. Despite herself Musashi smiled back and sighed.

JAPANESE PHRASES:

_Ohayo gozaimasu: _Good morning

_Ne: _hey

_Oishi: _yummy/delicious

_Sayonara: _goodbye


End file.
